More Than Meets The Squid
by Jerry65
Summary: After being absent from Inkopolis for some time, the New Squidbeak Splatoon has returned to fight the Octarian Menace! As peace between Inklings and Octolings falters and Tartar's plan begins to take form, the NSS have more problems to deal with than ever. Co-Written with Yeroc8.
1. Back Home

**Back Home**

 **Before you read, I want to tell you several things:**

 **This story is an epilogue to Renegades, another story of mine and hence takes place afterwards. This means that you might gain some spoilers from this story if you had not read Renegades. As of the making of this chapter, I'm still working on the Splatoon story arc of Renegades so you can read that as I update that story. As with Renegades, this was co written with Yeroc8, who does most of the editing and sometimes writes chapters or segments of chapters.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Splatoon or any of the characters unless they're my OCs**

* * *

"Ayo! We're finally back home after kicking the GC's(1) butts! How does it feel guys?" Pearl exclaimed happily as the group entered the Inkopolis Square. The Square had not changed much since they left. It was still bustling with life, with Inklings and Octolings conversing and Jellyfish hanging around.

"Feels great, although, I'm gonna miss those guys." Callie replied.

"Yeah, I know. But, we did keep a few…" Marina added. Everyone looked to see she still had her DJ turntable which she was pushing into the studio.

"What? I need to keep him so I can announce stages and play music." Marina said. One of the records on the turntable then transformed.

"Good to be back, er, home? Second home? Home away from Cybertron?" Eject said as he stretched. Another record transformed, this one being Rewind.

"Welp, now that I don't really need to hide anymore, I could record more events easily!" Rewind exclaimed happily. Eject playfully elbowed him on his arm.

"That's all you're thinking about, your database? I'm thinking about the fact I could finally participate in Turf Wars!"

"Eh, not so fast Eject. I think having you participate would kind of be cheating, since you are completely resistant to ink." Three said. The group were then met by the others that stayed behind on Inkopolis.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Lily said as she greeted the others.

"We were kinda worried about you guys. We were afraid you would be splatted." Benzo added.

"But here they are, safe and sound! So, what should we do to celebrate your victory?" Cuttlefish asked. Everyone thought for awhile before Four spoke up.

"I think we're all tired right now. Maybe we can do something later, but for now, I think we just want to rest."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Marie agreed. Everyone except Off the Hook and the Cassettes left the studio. In the back, Rewind was getting all the information of news reports from the facsimiles(2) of Pearl and Marina left by the Renegades. After sharing the necessary information to Pearl and Marina, the two Cassettes shut the facsimiles down before wheeling them away into a closet.

"Alright, we're about to start announcing today's stages. Eject, stay out of trouble. Rewind, you can record us as long as one, no one sees you, and two, you stay out of trouble." Marina said to the two Cybertronians, who just nodded.

* * *

Meanwhile…

Agents Three and Eight walked right into their apartment, setting their stuff down and sitting down on a couch. Three yawned, having been tired from all the fighting in space. She then got up from her spot and stretched.

"Welp, I'm gonna go sleep. Hopefully, we don't have any Seacons or Retardicons or whoever they send interrupt my nap." Three said to Eight before slowly walking off to her room. Eight just shrugged before grabbing the remote to watch TV. She just flipped through channels, curious about what was on during this time of day. She eventually stopped at the Inkopolis News channel.

"A hot topic going around Inkopolis are these "agents" who had saved the city from Shockwave two months ago." Marina announced.

"Hey, didn't we help them?"

"Yes Pearlie, because they asked."

"What about those big robots they were with?"

"Well, we don't know much about them or these 'agents'. Those robots seemed to have disappeared and ever since Inkopolis was saved, so did the agents. As of right now, government officials are preparing to investigate Octo Valley and any other plans Shockwave may have had." Marina said.

"Hey, aren't the Octarians on good terms with us Inklings now?" Pearl asked.

"Well...um...yeah, maybe. Hopefully. Anyway, on a related note, the deaths of many Inklings in the persons on Octo Valley have angered several Inklings, with many nativist groups trying to get Octolings out of Inkopolis."

"Woah, sounds rough. Maybe we should help calm them down Marina. Whaddaya say?"

"Yeah, that would be great! Inklings and Octolings living together, forgetting about the problems of the past."

"Anyway, here are the stages…" Pearl announced before Marina displayed them. Eight paid no attention to the stages being announced and turned the TV off. She slouched over and sighed, upset about what she heard. She had seen that Inklings and Octolings had started living together peacefully when they left. Now she hopes it can stay that way.

* * *

Also Meanwhile…

"Ugh, great. Now EVERYONE knows we exist, and everyone's gonna start noticing that kettle by Ammo Knights." Marie said in frustration.

"Hey, didn't Mags(3) say he installed attention deflectors onto the kettle? You know, the thing that makes people not notice it's there unless they know beforehand?" Agent-4 said. Four decided to come with the Squid Sisters to their apartment, having been bored.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, he did. See Marie, we have nothing to worry about!" Callie said, trying to be positive.

"Hmm, maybe. It still bothers me that everyone knows of our existence."

"This'll pass by. Soon, we'll just be old news." Four added, trying to be positive as well, although she did see Marie's point.

"Hey, any of you guys want some french fries? I gonna go get some. If it's one thing I missed, it's the fries." Callie asked, heading out the door of their apartment.

"Mm, not right now." Four answered.

"I knew you were gonna get some fries after this was all over. I'll come with you. Four, you wanna come?" Marie asked the Inkling, who just stood in front of the TV. She thought about it for a while before coming up with a decision.

"Okay, sure." All three Inklings left the apartment building and walked around Inkopolis. It had been awhile since they were there. Suddenly, Callie remembered something.

"Oh, we need to get those facsimiles of us! Or else people are gonna wonder why there's two sets of Squid Sisters."

"Yeah, I don't need drama like that filling the rest of my schedule. Let's go do that and then we'll get the fries." Marie agreed.

* * *

Also Meanwhile, in the Depths of Octo Valley…

Octus was not having the best time there was. Not only had the Octarians been defeated by the New Squidbeak Splatoon once again, but their new leader Shockwave had caused so much damage to their society. Houses constantly fell apart, causing several casualties daily. They still had not gained a sufficient power supply. Many Octarians just wanted to make peace with the Inklings, and now the Inkopolis government was heading into Octo Valley for investigations. Octus had been holding them back, not allowing them access to their home. He was sick of Inklings and how they were treated down here. He wanted revenge.

"Sir, the Inklings at the entrance of Octo Valley are still requesting that they come to help our situation and investigate Shockwave's experiments." an Elite said to her leader.

"Tell them I do not wish for their help. I want the Inklings to suffer just as us Octarians have suffered. Tell them they will not have access into Octo Valley anytime soon and that they should just give up and go home."

"Yes sir, as you wish." The Elite walked out of the building that acted as his headquarters. Octus sat on a throne he had made for himself. He admits that the Octarians could use the help, but he feels it'll show weakness in him. Weakness that he cannot afford to show to his enemies. Just then, another Octoling walked in. He had a lab coat on, with several pens inside the front pocket. There were a couple fading scars on his tentacles, which curled and uncurled as he walked.

"Octus, we've recreated one of Shockwave's experiments that you have requested. I thought that maybe you would want to see it for yourself."

"Indeed I shall." Octus followed the scientist into a large lab. The lab was quite crowded, with materials and equipment scattered and grouped up in different parts of the room. The lab was filled with a chemical aroma that filled Octus' nostrils as soon as he went inside. The scientist stopped in front of a giant tube. The tube had a young Octoling boy inside, floating in some sort of translucent liquid which Octus could only assume as some sort of ink. The tube was about twice the size of the Octoling, making Octus wonder why he had to be in such a large tube. Several machines were wired onto the tube, with scanners checking vital signs and many other types of information.

"I introduce what Shockwave has called a 'Phase Sixer'. A living being, but styled as an ultimate weapon of destruction. According to his audio logs, Shockwave had created these weaponized people to participate in the war in his home. This Octoling will have enhanced strength, endurance, speed, durability, and much more."

"I do not see any difference from a regular Octoling."

"Ah, but we have not started yet. I requested that we do not start until you had arrived."

"Well?" Octus said, soon becoming very impatient. The scientist spoke with the others as they started to begin the experiment. Soon, the Octoling began to grow larger and appear stronger, with some muscles expanding. His claws had grown sharper and longer, his tentacles curled and moved erratically, and he started to outgrow the tube. Electricity crackled throughout the machines and tube and the scanners started to show more larger scaled signs. Soon, the crackling stopped and the bolts of electricity vanished. The ink was soon drained from the tube as it opened and the Octoling stepped outside.

"Sir, I present to you, your most powerful warrior yet: Cephalord. He lives to do your bidding, and he fights for you and you only." the scientist said, presenting Cephalord like a car dealer would present a new car.

"And what if he decides to attack me? Then what? You said it yourself, he's my most powerful warrior." The scientist had a solution, and grabbed a file from a desk that happened to not have anything but paper and files on it.

"Cephalord has a chip that was injected inside his brain. The chip was created for this sole purpose. Should he attack you, you just need to verbally say this code and the chip will kill him instantly." Octus took one look at the file the scientist had given to him before looking back at Cephalord.

"Is he able to attack right now? Or does he need training?"

"The chip had already given his brain information, such as combat styles and techniques and information on how to use any weapon. Basically, he requires no training."

"Yes, I require no training. What should I do for you?" Cephalord asked. This caught Octus off guard, as he did not expect the Octoling to speak.

"I-ahem, I want you to attack the Inklings outside Octo Valley. They had been pestering me about coming in. I want a message to be sent, I want the Inklings to know that I want nothing to do with them."

"As you command, master." Cephalord turned into a Kraken before super jumping away.

* * *

At Octo Valley's Entrance…

"Ugh, these Octarians will never let us in. let's just leave." an Inkling said to his colleagues. He had begun to lose hope that the Inklings and Octarians could make peace. There were fifty Inklings, all from orders by the government, to help the Octarian race find a way to make peace.  
"Don't give up, we had a mission to do, and we're gonna complete it." Just as the other Inkling said that, something slammed down onto the ground in a very large splashdown. The splashdown took out ten of the Inklings standing by. When the others looked to see what had attacked, they saw an enormous Octoling. He had metallic armor on, with some Tenta Missiles on each side of his chest and a back mounted Inkzooka. He also had two Mini Splatlings on his forearms and what appeared to be guns on the side of his shins. He towered over the Inklings by height, and he appeared much stronger physically.

"Hello Squids. The name is Cephalord, and I believe I was told I had a meeting to attend here. So let's talk, shall we?" Chephalord began to walk closer to the forty remaining Inklings.

"What is that thing?"

"Who cares? It's gonna splat us, so shoot it!" The Inklings opened fire, but it hardly seemed to harm him.

"Ugh, you guys realize this hurts a little, right? Here, let me show you my pain and then you can tell em about yours." Two Inklings were shooting at the Octoling when he grabbed them both by the head and slammed their heads together. He did so with so much force that both heads were crushed. He then dropped the headless bodies on the ground before quickly moving to the rest. He gunned several of them with his Splatlings and stomped on a group of three. He then picked up a short Inklings and tore off her limbs with his teeth before munching on her head while he shot two more. Cephalord began to massacre all the Inklings until only one remained. Cephalord kneeled beside him, his face close to the Inkling's.

"Pl-pl-pleas, don't splat me! I-I can't come back and I have f-family!" the Inling muttered softly, both from fear and injury.

"Tell them that Octus wants nothing to do with peace, only revenge. And tell the whole entirety of Inkopolis that I said 'hi'. Got that?" The Inkling nodded furiously before Cephalord picked him up from the ground.

"Great, I'm proud we both understand what's going on here. Here, let me help you on your way, I don't wanna be rude now, do I?" Cephalord then chucked the Inkling far away before dusting his hands off and wiping the ink off himself.

"Ah, it's good to be me."

* * *

The Next Day…

"Woah, say what now!?" Pearl asked. They were broadcasting right now, and Marina had just announced a large headline.

"Well, a group of fifty Inklings sent by the government were murdered by some large, heavily armed Octarian. Only one survived the fight, but he later died while being hospitalized."

"That's scary. What about making peace with the Octarians?"

"Well, looks like that idea has been thrown out the window. This new information has also been used by many Inkling nativists to try and find a reason to force Octolings out of Inkopolis." Pearl noticed Marina was a bit off today. She seemed a bit more upset than usual.

"Hey Reena, you okay?"

"No, no I'm not. I-I need to go take a break." Marina just left, leaving Pearl confused and to announce the stages by herself.

* * *

Later…

"Reena, you okay?" Pearl asked, walking into a small room that was the break room. It had a vending machine and one table with three chairs. Marina sat in one of them, her arms resting on the table while her head was buried in her arms.

"Reena?"

"I'm not okay...just please leave me alone."

"C'mon, what's wrong?" Marina rose her head up from her arms and stared straight at Pearl. She had some noticeable tear stains in her eyes. The sight of her like this saddened Pearl. Marina, noticing Pearl would expect an answer by now, sighed before speaking.

"I-I guess I'm just frustrated that our races still can't get along. When I heard that the Inkopolis government were gonna try to help the Octarians and make peace with them, I was happy. I was ecstatic. But now that this happened, those Anti-Octo groups now have a reason to hate Octolings and ban them from inkopolis. Now, we might as well start a Second Great Turf War while we're at it." Pearl sat down beside Marina, patting her back.

"It's okay, the New Squidbeak Splatoon will figure something out. WE can figure something out. We figured something out when Shockwave attacked, what makes this anymore different?" Pearl asked. Marina smiled before tackling her friend in a big hug. Just at that moment, Eject and Rewind decided to barge in.

"Okay, a single Octarian kills fifty Inklings in public. FIFTY. INKLINGS. Does that not scream 'Great Turf War Two'?" Eject said while simultaneously grabbing the other bot's shoulders and pulling him closer so that they were face to face.

"But that's no reason to start a war! They should just apprehend him. Or her. I have no idea what gender it is. That information hasn't been known yet since the guy sorta died before interrogation." Rewind replied.

"This better not be another Shockwave plan. That dude gives me the creeps, especially that eye. The way it just coldly stares at you. He can't even blink. It's just...unnatural." Eject added, shuddering as he thought about the it. the two soon noticed Pearl and Marina sitting there in the room as well.

"Oh hey guys." Rewind said, waving to the two. They then focused their attention to Marina.

"Hey, you okay? You kind of just left Pearl to do everything herself." Eject asked. He sat down on the remaining seat and started to fidget with a pen on the table

"It was one heck of a unique news broadcast that I managed to record. A bit boring compared to the other ones, but unique to say the least." Rewind added.

"Yeah, I'm okay guys." Marina replied before the four of them started to talk to each other.

* * *

Tentakeel Outpost…

"Did anyone else watch Inkopolis News?" Marie asked. At the Outpost was Agents 3, 4, 8, and the Squid Sisters, as well as Cuttlefish, Lily and Benzo. They were all huddled in front of Cuttlefish Cabin. Octavio's snowglobe was still there, however it has been empty since the Octarian had left to go unite the remaining Octarians to make peace with Inklings.

"Yeah. Sounds bad." Four simply said.

"I have a feeling Octus started this. Knowing him, he wouldn't be too supportive of a treaty, he would rather wage war. He's pretty mad the Octarians lost the Great Turf War long time ago." Lily added.

"Then it looks like we have another problem in our hands. We have to find out what octus is up to, and who this Octarian is." Cuttlefish said.

"Right when I thought we could have a break after we return, something new happens…" Three moaned. Eight stared at her best friend in a confused expression.

"We can do this. We've beaten people like him before."

"Maybe. But I wouldn't bet my life on it…" Three replied solemnly. They continued to talk until they finally dispersed, leaving Tentakeel outpost to become quiet once more. The only noises that were heard were the birds chirping and on a far away rock was Octavio, in Octoling form, looking through a pair of binoculars.

"Welcome back New Squidbeak Splatoon. And good luck." He said to himself before super jumping away into the horizon...

* * *

(1): GC = Galactic Council

(2):A Facsimile is a copy of a creature that could look, think, and act entirely like the person used for their template. Facsimiles usually have no knowledge of being fake.

(3): Mags is the nickname for Magnificus.

* * *

 **Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter even though it is shorter than what I usually write. I'm not the best writer out there (there's tons more that are better than me lol). Be sure to review and stay tuned for the next update!**


	2. Taking Breaks When Needed

**Taking Breaks When Needed**

 **And here's the second chapter! This one won't really have any action because this is just a random filler chapter I wrote, so hopefully you do like it. This chapter is a bit longer and took a bit longer to write, but it's here! If you want to see my schedule of when things can be updated, just check my profile.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Splatoon**

* * *

It was early in the morning in Inkopolis, six o' clock to be exact. Agent-3 was in her bed in deep sleep. She was engulfed inside the cozy, warm blanket, with her tentacles lying neatly on top. As the sun rose, sunlight slowly crept through her bedroom window, shining onto her face. Three winced from the sudden light, attempting to fall back asleep. She turned over to the other side, hoping it would block out the sunlight. However, soon the room became more lit up and bright, forcing her to slowly open her eyes and awaken. She reluctantly rose from her position on the bed and stretched her arms out wide while yawning simultaneously. Three turned to see that she had left an imprint on the bed and pillow. Throwing the blankets off herself, she got up and walked out of her room over to the living room of her apartment.

"Eight must not be awake yet." Three said to herself as she looked up at a clock hung up on her wall. Three mentally slapped herself when she realized how early in the morning she woke up. Trudging back to her room, she threw on some clothes she found in her closet and grabbed a splattershot before grabbing her Squidphone, which was on her nightstand. She quickly texted Eight that she was leaving to participate in Turf War before walking out the door.

* * *

In the her bedroom, Agent-8 was still asleep, unaware that Three had gotten up and left. It was eight o' clock in the morning now, and Eight had finally woken up after several minutes. Feeling energized and ready for the day, she hopped out of bed and stretched for what only seemed like a few seconds before bolting out of the room to go wake up Three. She burst through the doorway happily, only to see the blankets had been thrown in a pile at the end of the bed and said agent was not there.

"Three? Where did she go…" Eight asked herself, walking out of Three's bedroom and going back to her's.

"Maybe she left me a message! Yeah, Three would always tell me where she would be!" Eight said to herself aloud as she grabbed her phone, which was shaped like an octopus, and looked at her messages.

"Woke up earlier than expected. Went to go do some Turf." Eight read aloud to herself before shrugging. She changed into a Black 8-Bit FishFry t-shirt and some simple shorts before running out of the apartment. She ran toward the Square, her Octo-Shot in her hands. Once she arrived, Eight smiled at the sight of Inklings and Octolings talking to each other casually.

" _Hm, I wonder why all the young Inklings don't mind Octolings."_ Eight thought to herself as she approached the lobby and sat down, waiting for a round of Turf War to start. Six Inklings and an Octoling walked inside, filling up the lobby. One of the Inklings stared at Eight, making her slightly uncomfortable, however, she just tried to ignore him. She just hoped he would stop and would eventually look at something else, but the Inkling just kept on staring. Eventually, as if someone from high up had seen her and pitied her, the group was told that the battle was starting. Everyone was then sent to one of the stages, which was Arowana Mall. The group was split into two teams as they emerged from their respective team's respawn pads. Eight's team was light blue while the enemy team was pink. Eight looked around to see she was in a team with the Octoling and two Inklings. The Octoling had a Splat Charger while the two Inklings had an Aerospray MG and a Rapid Blaster. The other team, which was completely Inklings, had two Rollers, Enperry Splat Dualies, and a Hydra Splatling. The round started, and both teams rushed toward the middle. Ink flew everywhere, covering the surfaces of the stage in the two colors. Eight managed to surprise the Inkling with the Enperry Splat Dualies, splatting him in less than a second. However, an Inkling with a Hydra Splatling threw an Autobomb, which quickly started to track Eight. Eight turned into her octopus form and swam away, with the Autobomb closely behind. She managed to swim up one of the ramps quick enough to dodge the explosion, where she turned back into her humanoid form and fired several shots to cover some more turf. In the distance, the Inkling with the Aerospray had been splatted by a Splashdown courtesy of an Inkling using a Splat Roller. The Roller charged towards Eight, but she noticed it and quickly gunned him down. She wiped some ink that was on her cheek before swimming up another ramp that lead towards the middle. As the round progressed, Eight could see that the enemy team was making a comeback. Eight and the other Octoling found a high place to camp near the side of the stage. The Octoling sniped an Inkling with a Splat Roller while Eight activated her Inkjet and started to bomb the incoming enemy team from above. They were all splatted in two shots and Eight used the rest to cover turf before she was launched back onto the ground. Their team was now winning by a little bit when the timer started to count down. Eight attempted to cover as much turf as she could until the round ended, with Judd and Lil' Judd looking at the percentage of ink on the map. They soon got up to present the winners, and Lil' Judd pretended to faint. Eight's team won the match by two percent. Once it all ended, the Inklings and Octolings left the lobby. Eight walked out and saw Three standing in the middle of the Square and waving towards her. She quickly ran up to Three and the two began walking toward one of the empty tables near Ye Olde Cloth Shoppe.

"So, how was Turf War?" Three asked while taking out her Squid Phone and browsing her messages.

"It was great! Still my favorite thing to do when I'm bored. How was your matches?"

"Horrible. I kept getting stuck with these two Inklings using chargers. That's the thing about people using chargers: they're either really good or really bad." Three said.

"Well, at least it isn't like Ranked."

"Nope. Anyway, you wanna go do something else?" Three asked Eight, who had put away her Octo Phone. The Octoling had a small smile on her face, which Three always thought was cute.

"Okay, let's go." Eight replied before stuffing her phone back into her pocket. She followed Three out of the Square. The two walked around the city of Inkopolis, happily chatting away until they reached a small park. There, they saw many Inklings gathering around a small stage. There were several posters and signs hung up all over the stage, and an Inkling was on top, speaking to the people. Above him was a sign saying "Octolings, Go Back Home!". Upon seeing this, Three grabbed Eight's hand and angrily marched over to the stage. The sudden movement made Eight yelp a bit as she was pulled toward Three. As they approached, they could hear what the man was saying.

"Octolings are the bane of our existence! When we won the Great Turf War back in the day, we won fair and square! Many died trying to fight for what they believed in, and I respect that. What I DON'T respect is the fact that these Octolings are now mooching off from our victory, invading our home! They are not welcome here, they are a dangerous, barbaric species that deserves to live underground where they should rot and decay! We can obviously see how evil they are from the attack that happened when the government tried to make peace with the Octarians! They obviously don't want peace, they obviously just want war to give themselves an excuse to kill us!" the man angrily ranted to the people. The crowd was mostly made up of adults, with very few younger Inklings in there. Three pushed through the crowd until she finally reached the stage, where she glared daggers at the speaker.

"Octolings can live here as they please! You just can't accept that, so now you're just harassing them!" Three shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the speaker.

"Little girl, your brain isn't fully developed at this age, and thus, you probably don't understand. You see, your Octoling friend here is very dangerous. For all we know, she could probably kill all of our families, friends, and loved ones." the speaker said calmly to Three. This statement only angered Three further, who looked like she was going to explode.

"BULL CARP! My brain is as developed as it can be, you frikkin moron! Everything you're saying is bull carp!"

"I understand your anger, little gir-" Three suddenly reached out and pulled the man by his shirt collar, making him fall off the stage and onto the ground where she was. She pulled him close to her face, glaring daggers at him. Meanwhile in the distance, Rewind and Eject were walking on the sidewalk. Eject was wearing a strange hat while Rewind had one finger on the side of his head. There, a small red dot of light beamed, showing that he was currently recording everything around him. He turned to Eject, who was waving at several passersby. They occasionally waved back, often with confused looks on their faces.

"Eject, that hat is scaring people." Rewind said, pointing to the hat he was wearing. It was a beanie styled to look like an Inkling's tentacles. The two long tentacles reached down to Eject's knees.

"Hey, I'm just trying to blend in, you know? Marina said it's best not to stick out."

"I don't think THAT'S what she meant. Besides, that's a female hairstyle, not a male's."

"Pfft, whatever. Hey, isn't that one of those nativist group speeches? You know, "anti-Octoling" and all that?" Eject pointed towards the park, making Rewind spin around to see. Eject was correct, it was one of those nativist groups. Suddenly, Rewind noticed something strange about it.

"Hey, I think I see Agent-3. She's with Eight, and it looks like she's- oh no…" Rewind said before running towards the crowd gathered there. Eject just shrugged before running after his best friend, where they saw that Three had repeatedly punched a man. Eight was there, holding her back while the man stumbled away, wiping some ink that was leaking out of his nose.

"It seems you are too attached to the enemy. Fine then, go join them! Go betray your species!" the man shouted. Three lunged forward, but was pulled back by Eight's arms.

"No Three! Don't! You promised not to hurt people like this(1)!" Eight said, holding her down. Rewind and Eject pushed through the crowd, with Rewind occasionally saying "excuse me" and "sorry". They eventually made it, where they helped Eight calm Three down. The four of them left the crowd, with the speaker spitting out one final insult:

"You'll never win! The Octolings don't belong here and you know it! To hell with them!" They could hear him as they left. They walked in silence before finding a bench to sit on. The park was quiet now, with the speaker gone. Birds chirped and flew from tree to tree. The grass swayed back and forth in the wind. The calm scenery of the park did wonders to calm Three down as she let out a sigh of relief. Finally, Eject broke the silence.

"What kind of stunt was that?" Eject asked.

"I-I don't know. All the things he said, it just...it just made me pissed off. I'm sure the guy never even lived with an Octoling."

"Well, true, but I'm sure he'd rather be at the other end of Shockwave's cannon than have to live with one. Besides, it's one guy, you can't please everyone." Eject said. Three looked at Eight, who was fidgeting with the bottom of her shirt. She noticed several people staring at them. Actually, they were just staring at Eight.

"Hey guys, can we move somewhere else to talk? Everyone's staring at me and it's making me uncomfortable." Eight said, looking up at Three. The group got up and walked away from the park, back into the city sidewalks. After some time, Eight started to chuckle. It was quiet, but still audible. Three looked back at Eight, seeing her smiling.

"What's wrong? Why are you laughing." Three asked, making Eight point at Eject's head.

"He looks funny with that hat on." Eight giggled. That's when Three just noticed his hat and started to burst out laughing. The two Cybertronians turned around, incredibly confused at what was so funny.

"What? What's so funny?" Rewind asked. Three was clutching her stomach because she could hardly breathe from all the laughter. With her other hand, she pointed at Eject.

"H-h-his hat! It's so out of place and awkward!" Rewind looked at Eject before he started to laugh. The other Autobot wasn't very amused.

"Oh come on guys, it's just a hat! I'm trying to fit in and look fresh!"

"Not like that, you aren't!" Three said. This only made everyone laugh harder.

"Okay, okay, haha, very funny! It's off now, you can stop laughing!" Eject shouted. He took his hat off and the laughter died down.

"The funnier part was that the hat had a girl's tentacle style." Eight pointed out. Eject just handed the hat to the Octoling and the group just continued to walk and chat with each other.

* * *

Agents 3 and 8 were in their apartment. Eject and Rewind had went off to meet Off the Hook, with Eject mentioning something about "destroying Pearl in video games while Rewind is recording". The two agents were sitting on the couch while watching some horror movies. They watched as an Inkling girl walked right into a room and get killed, with her screams echoing through the room.

"What an idiot. It was pretty much obvious not to split up. Plus, that other guy specifically said 'don't get lost'." Three commented aloud while grabbing a handful of popcorn from the bowl, which sat nicely on Eight's lap.

"These horror movies aren't really scary, right Eight? Eight?" Three asked, but with no response. She turned to see that the Octoling was leaning on her shoulder, asleep.

"Hm, this movie must have bored her to sleep. Oh well, better go to bed I guess." Three said to herself aloud. She got up from her spot while holding Eight's head so that she doesn't wake up the sleeping agent. She then picked Eight up and started to walk towards her room.

" _Wow, Eight's pretty light for someone her size."_ Three thought as she slowly lowered Eight onto her bed. Three pulled the blankets out and covered Eight, tucking her in. Eight quietly snored while she slept on the bed.

"Good night, Eight." Three said, petting her friend on the head before walking to her room to get some sleep.

* * *

"I don't get it, why are you guys making fun of my hat? It looks perfectly fine to me!" Eject said. Off the Hook, Eject, Rewind, Three, and Eight were walking on the sidewalks of Inkopolis. The city was quiet clean, with almost no litter on the ground. The city also seemed to be nice and quiet, with large screens on tall skyscrapers advertising different things. It also smelled nice, reminding the two Cybertronians of what the Golden Age of Cybertron was like before the War. Eject decided against bringing his Inkling hat to prevent himself from becoming the laughing stock. Pearl and Marina had heard about it from Rewind, making Pearl almost die of laughter the other night. They approached a large part of the sidewalk which was crowded with inklings and some Octolings. In the middle were some people in costumes, which Pearl and Marina noticed.

"Guys, whatever you do, don't make eye contact with those guys and if they ask you a yes or no question, always say no." Marina said. This confused Eight, Rewind, and Eject. Rewind focused his small head camera at the people. They were in many strange costumes, some of them in Inkling costumes, Octoling, squid, octopus, or even a Seanwich.

"Dude, these guys are weird. Besides, where the hell do you find a SEANWICH costume?" Eject asked.

"The internet. You could find almost anything on the internet." Pearl responded. Eject just shrugged while avoiding the costumed people. However, one of them grabbed Eight's hand, holding onto it tightly. When Eight tried to walk, she felt like she was being pulled back, making her turn around and see who had grabbed her. One of the costumed people, one in a Inkling costume, was holding her hand. The strange part was they had the head of the large costume open, so you could see their actual head around where the neck would be. She saw that it was some strange Inkling, staring her dead in the eyes. He smelled horrible, worse than when Three forgot to take a shower in two weeks. He gave a creepy smile with his crooked teeth, making her uncomfortable.

"Picture? Want a picture? C'mon, let's take a picture!" the man demanded, still holding onto her hand.

"N-no thank you. Bye." Eight responded, trying to pull away. The man's grip was strong however, and he held onto her tight before pulling her a little closer.

"Picture? Let's take a picture! Come here…"

"B-b-but I don't- ack!" Eight was grabbed by the man, who put his other arm around her shoulder while still holding her hand. Eight tried to escape, but she couldn't. Her tentacles started to move erratically, showing that she was in an uncomfortable state.

"You're kinda pretty…" the man whispered, freaking her out. Suddenly, pushing through the crowd, was Three and Marina.

"Hey! Let go of her. Now." Three demanded.

"But she's just taking picture…"

"We mean it, let her go." Marina said. She then pulled out some money, outstretching her hand toward the guy.

"Here, I'll give you some money, but only if you let her go." Marina said. The man looked at Marina's hand, staring at the money as if his mind drifted away to some unknown land. He then looked back at Marina, who was getting creeped out already. She was hoping he would take it and let go of Eight, but the man refused.

"More."

"Sir, this is as much as I'm willing to give you. Please, let her go."

"No, give me more." the man started to bring Eight closer to him. Eight thought she was gonna gag from the toxic stench coming from the costume. She could feel the scent crawling to her nose. The idea of it plus the smell made her want to throw up and gag right there.

"C'mon dude, just let go of her! You're scaring her!" Three demanded. It was quite obvious Eight was freaking out internally, judging by the movement of her tentacles and her heavy breathing. The commotion from this particular area seemed to have attracted more people in costumes, who started to reach out for Marina and Three. One grabbed Three's tentacles while another went to grab Marina's waist.

"Get off!" Marina demanded, trying to step on someone's foot.

"What the hell!?" Three exclaimed angrily. Suddenly, eight very loud gunshots echoed through this part of the city block, freaking out the people walking by and the ones in the costumes. The man released Eight, running for his life. Soon, the place was empty except for the three of them. Three held onto her tentacles, making sure nothing was on them before being bombarded by a giant hug from Eight. Three was surprised at first, but she quickly returned the hug, the frightened Octoling in her embrace.

"T-thank you…" Eight said as she buried her head into the Inkling's shoulder. Marina patted her back, comforting her.

"You're okay Eight, we're here." Three whispered.

"Uh, we didn't make those noises, so who did?" Marina looked around to see Pearl, Eject, and Rewind, with Rewind projecting a recording. The three looked at the projection screen, seeing someone shooting another.

"Check it out! We scared the carp out of those guys!"

"Wow, look at that, a time when we actually needed your stupid footage!" Eject said.

"First of all, it's not stupid. Second, what happened? I only had that file up in case we needed to do that." Rewind said.

"My idea, by the way. Totally put the suggestion out there." Pearl said.

"Well, we were walking when I noticed Eight wasn't with us. I turned around and next thing you know, one of those guys had Eight in his arms. We tried to bribe him, but he wouldn't let go and all the commotion from our side kinda drawed more people in…" Three explained. Eight was still in her arms, although she seemed to have calmed down a bit more.

"Pfft, costume freaks. And you thought my HAT was bad." Eject said.

"Fine, your hat was bad, and this was worse, happy?" Pearl asked.

"Mm, slightly under happy, but I'll take it." Eject replied, petting Pearl on the head.

"Uh guys? People are coming back. Might want to run before we're 'pictured' to death." Rewind said. The group snuck way until they thought they were out of sight. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, with Eight being calm now.

"That was...very scary." Eight said.

"Indeed. I'll try to map our destinations and the routes there so that we go around that area." Rewind said, projecting a 3D map with his camera. He started to outline the area they were just in before leaving a annotation saying not to go through there. The group finally reached their destination, which was slightly outside the city: Pearl's Mansion. Pearl was in the front of the group, unlocking the gates and letting them walk on the property. When they got to the gigantic mansion, Pearl opened the front doors with a spare key she had and everyone walked in. The sight was amazing, astonishing everyone but Off the Hook and the Cassettes, who lived here. The room they entered was HUGE, with extravagant red carpet on the floor. On top of the ceiling, three gigantic chandeliers hung, light reflecting off the surfaces of the crystals on it. Two large stairs curved towards the back part of the room to a ledge that led to another large stair, which led to the second floor. The scene made Three and Eight's jaws drop as they looked around.

"I-I wow. Never knew you guys were this loaded…" Three said.

"Pearl's the rich one. This is her family's mansion." Marina said.

"It's big…" Eight muttered as she walked around the room, touching everything she could. Three saw that Eject and Rewind haven't been amazed, which kind of shocked her.

"How come you guys aren't shocked or at least amazed at this? This house probably costs a fortune! I wouldn't even get something like this in a lifetime!"

"Well, first off, it DOES cost a fortune. Second, we've been here for most of our time in Inkopolis, since we kind of were and still are Marina's equipment."

"Where's Blaster?" Eight asked, touching an expensive looking vase that sat on a table. Inside were some large flowers, which Eight delicately touched with her fingers.

"Blaster's already here. I'm assuming he's doing stuff in the game room or watching movies in the theater."  
"You have a theater!?" Three asked, jaw dropping once more. Pearl just shrugged like it was nothing. Pearl soon led them upstairs and into a large room. The room had a large flat screen TV inside, air hockey, ping pong, and foosball tables in the middle, three arcade machines near the back corner, and two pinball machines right next to them. Surrounding the TV were large bean bags where people could sit, and several different gaming consoles underneath the table the TV sat on.

"Woah…" Eight and Three muttered. Three rushed straight to the arcade machines, with Eight quickly following her. Pearl and Marina sat down on top of the beanbags while Eject and Rewind were playing some ping pong. Pearl and Marina picked up some controllers from where they sat before playing what seemed like a fighting game. The two were extremely concentrated, however it seemed Pearl kept getting destroyed by Marina.

"How are you so good? You never even played before!"

"I don't know, I'm just pressing random button combinations to see what does what." Marina replied, defeating Pearl yet again in another match. Meanwhile, Three was focused on trying to beat Pearl's high score on an arcade game that appeared to be a shoot 'em up involving a small ship fighting giant insects(2) in space. Three spammed the shoot button, destroying several insects quickly and trying to avoid being sucked in by one of the insects or being shot at. She only had two lives left after an earlier mistake she made, and she wasn't about to lose. Eight cheered her on as she finally reached another wave.

"Just gotta beat this one, then I beat Pearl." Three muttered, shooting several of the insects down quickly. With lightning precision, she made several really accurate shots on three incoming insects that were gonna kill her. Suddenly, an insect popped out of the bottom of the screen and blew up her ship. Three was now down to her last life, and down to her last insect. She concentrated. She kept shooting at it, but kept missing as well. Eventually, the insect shot too much missiles at her and she exploded. The game over screen showed up, showing her hit and miss ratio, as well as other things. Three was a bit disappointed at her lose, but she didn't expect Eight to hug her.

"You did fantastic! You made it to the leaderboard, see?" Eight pointed. There, Three could enter a name. Three quickly entered a name before saving it onto the leaderboard. The two then walked over to where Pearl and Marina sat, where they both sat down on one beanbag. They watched as Pearl and Marina were playing a different game, a racing one. Pearl was in first place, but marina was close behind.

"You'll never beat me!"

"Don't bet on it." Just then, a butler came in with a large tray of food. Pearl thanked him before placing it all down. It was a bunch of sandwiches, which smelled delicious. The wonderful aroma of fried food filled the room as all of them looked at the mouth watering food.

"Let's eat!" Pearl finally said, grabbing a sandwich and taking a big bit. The others did as well, taking large bites out of them. The butler soon returned with some drinks, which Pearl thanked him for again.

"So...mmmph...what do you guys want to do now?" Pearl asked while her mouth was full.

"I don't know, maybe a movie? I'm sure Eight and Three would love to check out the theater." Marina replied.

"Yes, that would be fantastic!" Three added. Eight, meanwhile, was offering some of her sandwich to Rewind and Eject, who kindly refused.

"Sorry, but we can't eat that. We aren't allergic or anything, it's just that Cybertronians only eat certain stuff." Rewind said. Eight just nodded before taking another bite. After they all ate, the group went to the theater inside the mansion. It wasn't the biggest theater, but it was big enough to fit them all in there. They watched some random movies that Pearl just happened to have in there, with time flying by quickly. Soon, Three was asleep on Eight's shoulder while Pearl and Marina fell asleep on each other.

"I think it's getting late. Here, you take Agent-3 to one of the guest rooms upstairs. I labeled the rooms, so you'll know where it is."

"Why did you label the rooms again?" Eject asked as he picked up Marina and held her over his shoulder. Rewind easily picked up Pearl and they walked with Eight upstairs.

"Because Marina got lost sometimes."

"Well, now she doesn't get lost."

"Hey, guests could get lost. You got lost one time."

"Hey, that was because I was tired!"

"Terrible excuse. You just got off the recharge slab, you shouldn't have been tired." Eight shushed the two Cybertronians, who quietly apologized as they walked up to the bedrooms. Rewind and Eject walked into a large bedroom while Eight walked into another room, labeled "guest bedroom 8". Eight just laid Three's sleeping body onto the bed before pulling the blankets up and laying them over her. Eight yawned, rubbing one of her eyes. She could feel herself becoming sleepy while she sat on the bed. The bed was comfy and soft, and soon, Eight just fell asleep on the bed.

"Hey, I just noticed: where the hell is Blaster?" Eject asked as the two Cassettes(3) left Pearl and Marina's room, shutting the door quietly. At the bottom of the stairs, Rewind and Eject saw Blaster playing with Steeljaw. Blaster noticed them coming down, and waved to them.

"Dude, where were you!?" Eject asked before being tackled by Steeljaw. Ramhorn just walked next to Rewind, who petted him.

"Well, I was recharging and forgot you guys were here. Whoops?" Blaster said.

"Eh whatever. You missed out on the best ping pong game between me and Rewind ever." Eject said, swinging around an imaginary ping pong paddle as if he was playing against an invisoble person.

"Isn't that what you call every game against Rewind?"

"No. Not all the time." Eject said, crossing his arms.

"Yeah...anyway, you two want to go watch a movie?"

"Nah, did that already." Rewind said.

"How about...rearranging everything in Pearl and Marina's room so when they wake up, they get all freaked out?" Blaster suggested

"You bet!" Rewind said. Eject laughed at this idea.

"Best idea EVER! Where do you come up with this stuff!?" he shouted, getting shushed by both Blaster and Rewind. He whispered sorry before they all rushed back upstairs, with Blaster projecting his holomatter avatar so he could fit through the doorway.

* * *

(1): See Renegades, Chapter 8: What Lies Below the Ink

(2): Based off Galaga, one of my personal favorite shoot 'em ups

(3): The reason they are called "Cassettes" is because in the original toy and cartoon, transformed into cassette tapes.

Note: Rewind and Eject are about the height of Marina, if not taller. This makes them taller than most of the characters, but it also means they are pretty tiny Cybertronians.

* * *

 **Hopefully you enjoyed this filler chapter. Again, as this series is being written, Renegades Splatoon story arc is being written as well, so I suggest you check it out (insert self-promotion joke here). I had recently went to New York City, and I saw these guys in these weird costumes that offered to take a picture with you. Only problem was, their costumes looked cheap/bad, and they just grabbed at you rather than asking. Afterwards, they would force you to pay them. They kinda creeped me out, so much so I added an exaggerated version in this chapter! (New York was still amazing.) Reviews are welcome as always, and if you have any questions please PM me.**


	3. First Encounter

**First Encounter**

 **Finally, I got a chapter for this story finished! Sorry about the long absence, school and all. Hopefully, you guys are enjoying this story despite the late updates. As I have announced in my other stories, I will be updating less frequently because of school and other things, but that does not mean I quit! In my absence, I do try to find time to write, and sometimes I update other stories first. ANyway, hopefully you enjoy this chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: Splatoon is owned by Nintendo**

* * *

Callie and Marie sat at their dining table, sipping coffee from their mugs. It was early in the morning, and the two cousins decided to share some coffee together. A large window was right next to the dining table, which lead to a small balcony that overlooked the city.

"Hey, did Four text you?" Marie asked before taking another sip.

"Yeah, she always does. She needs more friends in my opinion. I feel bad that we're the only people she hangs out with."

"She hangs out with Three, Eight, and Off the Hook, right? I mean, I assume she does here and there…" Marie said. Callie then had a brilliant idea.

"Hey, why not have her hang out with other people like um...the Cassettes!"

"You mean Eject and Rewind?"

"Yeah! They're always doing stuff, and Eject did mention one time that he could use someone to hang out with. Plus, I think it'll be good for her."

"Maybe...but we shouldn't force her to do that." Marie said, getting up from her seat and going into her bedroom. She was already in her regular attire, simpler and more comfortable than the one she wore for concerts. She walked over to her nightstand and grabbed a small Decepticon badge, which was made out of the top corner of Tailwind's Decepticon badge. The piece had been chipped off, and Tailwind had carved it into a small badge for her.

"Y'know, I think it's nice that Four takes the time to hang out with us. When we aren't busy, of course. Right Callie?" Marie said aloud, adjusting the Decepticon badge on her chest. She waited for a response, but there was none.

"Callie?" Marie called out, but just silence. Marie then turned toward her door and marched to it.

"Callie, if this is you doing some sort of prank, I'd like you to-" Marie swung the door open, and the scene she just walked into horrified her. Pink ink stained the carpet and walls, and standing above a small puddle of ink was a very tall, muscular, heavily armed Octarian. He was so heavily armed to the point where he had guns on his legs. However, that wasn't what Marie paid attention to. In his right hand was Callie, her mangled body hanging there in his grasp. His large hand was wrapped around her small neck. Marie tried to move, but she just couldn't no matter how hard she tried. She was frozen there, frozen in fear. The Octoling just smiled viciously, showing his shiny, sharp teeth.

"C-C-Callie?"

"Oh, did you want this? Sorry if you didn't hear her scream, I kind of muffled it once I grabbed her neck." the Octoling explained. The calm demeanor in his voice just only frightened Marie anymore.

" _Oh no...this must be the Octoling that was on the news...the same one tha-"_ Marie thought. Her thoughts were soon interrupted with him speaking again, all the while walking towards her.

"You know, I've DREAMT of putting both of you through so much torture. When I saw you foil Octavio's plans once again(1), I just hated you. I've grown to hate both of you. Every night, I dreamt of such cruel, violent, and downright psychotic ways to torture you for the rest of your lives. But I was too weak, that is, until the experiment…"

"Let her go, please!" Marie begged. Her pleas were just responded by some light chuckles.

"I don't know, I'm starting to like the feel of her tiny neck. I could crush it like a twig, and she would die in a matter of minutes."

"Please, don't make me do anything unnecessary…"

"What would you do that's unnecessary? What could you POSSIBLY do to hurt me?"

"Well, since you asked…" It all happened too quickly for the Octoling to respond. From behind her, Marie pulled out one of Tailwind's swords that she kept on her(2). She quickly sliced his right arm off, making him drop Callie, before embedding the blade into his chest. He shouted in pain and agony, grabbing the blade with his only remaining arm. After a few seconds, he started to laugh. It started with a few small chuckles before he started to laugh hysterically. Marie was confused about his reaction.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh my cod, honestly, that was great. Your moves flowed like water in a calm creek, it was amazing. I'm impressed. Ah wait, I'm sorry, what I meant to say was, you should have aimed for the head." Cephalord's expression quickly changed to a serious one as he pulled the blade from his chest. The blade had barely punctured his chest, and only the tip was covered in ink. He gave Marie a toothy smile, before leaning in.

"Only because it's not already fun enough, I want to tell you one more thing: run, before I tear out your spine and make you eat that for breakfast for what you did to my arm…" Cephalord whispered. Marie then punched him in the nose before grabbing Callie and bolting straight out of there. She still held the sword in her hand, with Callie slung over her shoulder as she darted through the halls, a psychotic Octoling following close behind. Marie pulled out her phone before dialing a number, the first one that came to her mind…

* * *

Three and Eight were on the streets once again. The morning at the mansion was quite uneventful except for when Pearl started to freak out that all her stuff had been rearranged and the fact that she found herself sleeping on Marina's lap, curled up in a ball. Three had her hands stuffed in her pockets as she strolled down the sidewalk. Eight was following closely behind, looking around herself at the city. She loved Inkopolis. The fresh clothes, the Turf War, it all felt like heaven to her. Eight ran up to Three, now, walking beside her.

"Where are we going?"

"Back to the apartment. I forgot my Hero Shot, and plus I want to get my Turf War gear ready and go play some rounds." Three said. Eight just nodded in response, before looking on the ground. She watched her feet moving as she walked, and she just stared off into space.

"Eight, watch where you're going." Three reprimanded, immediately snapping her out of her trance.

"Sorry…"

"No, it's fine, I just don't want you running into anyone accidentally, that's all." Just then, someone slammed straight into Three, and both of them tumbled to the ground. Three got up and shook her head before seeing who had ran into her. It was Agent-4, and not too far behind was Marie holding...Callie. Eight ran up to greet Marie, but she just grabbed her hand and pulled her. Both Four and Marie had terrified expressions.

"Four, what's going on?"

"Th-that...guy… he just started chasing Callie and Marie…" Just then, the two could hear people screaming in the distance. Cephalord finally arrived, a devilish grin spread across his face.

"Well, it looks like I got the whole agency all together! I mean, I never really expected THIS, but I guess life just wanted to give me something fun to do." Four passed Agent-3 an extra Splattershot that she had on her. Three took it and charged at the oversized Octoling, but he simply reached into a pocket and pulled something out. He waved the item in the air in front of himself, and Three finally saw what it was: a scalpel. Suddenly, flashbacks of the torture she endured back in Albacore Prison(3). She could see images flashing back, images of her ink staining the table, a puddle of it forming on the ground below. She could see the now-dead Doctor, his stained rubber gloves reaching towards her face, the tray of tools all covered in ink as well. Agent-3 fell to her knees and grasped her head, dropping the Splattershot onto the ground. Eight ran up to her friend, trying to calm her down, but nothing was working. Meanwhile, Cephalord was laughing hysterically, occasionally wiping tears of laughter.

"Oh my cod, I never thought this trick would be THAT effective! Oh, you should totally see how pathetic you were! The face you made when you saw the scalpel, it was priceless!" Just then, Cephalord felt someone's fist make contact with his jaw. The impact made his stumble backwards slightly, but he easily regained balance within seconds. He looked to see an angry Agent-8, the Splattershot now in her hands. He could feel ink drip from the corner of his mouth, which he wiped with his one remaining arm. From his back, he pulled out a large Roller, which was dripping with Octarian ink.

"How sweet, the traitor is protecting her little wittle friend, that's so adorable!" Cephalord taunted in a mocking voice.

"I'm adorable too, don't you think? Well, adorably sadistic." Cephalord then swung the roller at Eight, but she jumped just in time. Once she landed, Eight started to unload all the rounds at the Octoling. He raised his arm and swung the roller downwards, prompting Eight to roll out of the way to avoid being crushed. Eight didn't see his foot coming from the side, and she immediately felt it slam against her chest once she finished rolling. Agent-4 ran to help her, firing away at Cephalord. He could feel the shots hitting him, but he simply ignored it. He turned around quickly, startling Four before grabbing her by the leg and pulling her close to him. He stared straight into her terrified eyes. The look she gave him simply amused him as he smiled.

"Oh look, it's the agent that doesn't matter at all. All the Octarians, I hear them talking about Agent-3 and how badass she apparently is, and how her traitorous friend seems to have completely disregarded the Octarian Army and betrayed it completely by becoming the enemy herself. Shell, even the first two agents are mentioned more than you. It's a shame that your death will have nothing more than a mention. When I kill you, you will be nothing but a number. A number added to my kill count." Cephalord whispered as he started to bring her towards his mouth, which was opened wide. Agent-4 could see his teeth and fangs shine as she tried to fight back, using her legs to prevent herself from going into his jaws of death.

"Four! NO!" Marie screamed as she dropped Callie beside Agent-3 and pulled out Tailwind's sword. She ran straight toward Cephalord, who simply held Four with his mouth before quickly grabbing Marie by the neck. She dropped the sword and Cephalord hoisted her higher in the air so she couldn't reach it.

"Lightweight." Cephalord said, his voice muffled by the Inkling he was holding with his mouth. He started to bite down, and Four shouted in pain.

"Hmm, tasty. Now that I had a taste test, let's eat the full meal." Cephalord then jerked his head up and opened his mouth, launching Agent-4 into the air. With his mouth wide open, he waited for the Inkling to come fall back down, where he would chew on her like an entree. But that never happened because instead, he felt someone else bite his right leg. The large Octoling shouted in pain before looking down angrily to see his attacker was a small, metallic lion. He flailed his leg around to try and get it off, but the lion's grip was firm and tight. He then proceeded to use Marie as a bludgeon to try and knock it off that way. After a few hits, the lion was thrown across the street. The street, which was supposed to be full of loud cars, was instead quite empty. Surrounding the scene were cars, with both Inklings and Octolings watching. When he was done, Marie was now bleeding, and his hand was covered in her ink. He just tossed her aside before reaching down to grab his Roller. He then walked over to Agent-3, who seemed to have recovered for the most part. Without a weapon, she stood before him as he loomed over her ominously.

"Ah, Agent-3. You know, when I think about it now, you really aren't as dangerous or badass as most Octarians think. Actually, come to think of it, this was way too eas-" Cephalord, for some odd reason, saw a turntable on top of a wheeling table roll by and bump into his foot. When he stopped to examine it out of curiosity, The thing transformed and all he could feel was a large object forcefully launch him into the sky, very far away from his enemies. Now, Agent-3 looked up to see Blaster, who was now picking up everyone else from the ground. Steeljaw simply stood up and followed the Autobot. In the distance, Pearl, Marina, Eject, and Rewind were running towards them. Pearl and Marina seemed tired and out of breath while the two Cassettes looked perfectly fine.

"Hey, we got a call from Marie so- oh...we're late, aren't we?" Eject asked.

"Yikes...what happened?" Pearl asked. Usually, when she walked into a scene she had something to say, and loudly too. But this time, Pearl didn't really know what to say. All they saw was ninety percent of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, in Blaster's hands, all beaten up and wounded.

"Let's get out of here. If none of you have noticed, we have an unwanted audience." Rewind said. His red light was on, signifying that he was recording. Very rarely did he ever stop recording. Blaster ran off, and so did everyone else. A crowd started to follow them, and soon the police came in their cruisers. Sirens wailed around the group as the police drew closer. Three knew it was gonna be hard to explain to them what just happened.

* * *

Later…

Octus sat in his extravagant throne that he had told several troops to make for him. The throne room was large, with a large doorway that had a path leading to the leader's seat. Octus wasn't alone in the room. He had two Elites standing by his side when Cephalord walked in. Octus could see that the Octoling had taken quite a beating. He seemed to be bruised here and there, and he was missing his right arm, but besides that, he seemed fine. Actually, the fact Cephalord's arm was missing didn't seem to faze the Octarian Phase Sixer, who simply strolled right towards the throne casually.

"Cephalord, report."

"What is there to report? I injured the whole lot of them. Could have killed them too…"

"But?"

"But I was sneak attacked. I wasn't aware they had someone much larger than me on their side." Cephalord said. Octus just sighed, trying to resist facepalming himself.

"Sir, if I may mention, I did heavily injure the New Squidbeak Splatoon. I hope you aren't mad at me."

"No, I'm not mad at you."

"I should've seen it coming. Maybe if I caused an even bigger scene I could have gained the attention of that traitor Marina…" Octus seemed to be ticked off by his comment, and his tentacles were moving in a way that showed he was slightly on edge.

"Cephalord...what were you gonna do with her?"

"Kill her, obviously. Probably tear off all her limbs and force feed it to her. Or maybe get her micro-sized friend and feed her to the trait-" Cephalord was punched across the face. He tumbled to the ground, where he looked over to see Octus standing before him. The Octarian leader was not happy, and kneeled down towards the Phase Sixer.

"Cephalord, you are NOT to touch her, understand? And if you do, I will make sure that chip inside your brain blows your head halfway across the Valley, understand?"

"Pfft, sure whatever, don't touch the girl, got it." Cephalord said as he tried to stand up.

"What's your deal with her anyway? Wait...you don't actually have an infatuation with her, do you? She's a traitor after all, and seeing as you're the leader of the Octarians now…"

"Cephalord, Marina Ida was my lab partner, and a beautiful girl too. I saw so much of myself in her. She was intelligent, skillful, and a great Octoling. Yes, I was disappointed that she ran from the Army. Yes, I'm disappointed that she's sided with our enemy. But no, I could never kill her. I could never destroy such an angelic person. I dream every night, a dream that depicts me ruling Inkopolis and the Inkling menace with an iron fist, and with Marina beside me."

"Fine, I get it, don't hurt her because you want to go smoochy smoochy on her." Cephalord mocked. Octus simply ignored his comments, and returned to his throne. He glared at the Octoling, who was waiting for orders. That's when he remembered that Cephalord was missing an arm.

"Cephalord, go to the lab and have the scientists there make a replacement arm for you."

"Yeah sure, why not." the Octoling muttered before walking out of the room. Shortly after, Octus went to his room which was located higher up in the large base. Inside, he looked at a painting that was hung up above a large desk. The painting was of Marina, which he had obtained when he hired several Octarians to paint something for him. He stared at it proudly.

"One day, my love, we will be back together again. And when we are, I will have crushed the New Squidbeak Splatoon and Inkopolis. The Octarians will be back in power, just like I predicted, and the Inklings will realize what it feels like to be oppressed." Octus said to the painting.

* * *

Agent-3 was sitting in an interrogation room. She had pretty much known that at some point, she would end up in a situation where she would be interrogated. Except she predicted she her interrogators would be Octarian, not Inkling cops. The cop sitting across from her had a stern look. He looked middle aged, with a small moustache growing on his face. He wore a grey suit with a nice looking red tie as well, which only made him look older.

"My name is Captain Squidton of IPD. Now, I think you know why you're here, so I won't bother boring you about that. However, I am interested to hear what happened on that street that had caused several roadblocks."

"Pfft, that's none of your business." Three said. The cop's eyebrows lowered as he stared at her for a few seconds before he picked up a file that was lying on the table. He flipped through it before setting down several papers. On one of them was Three's picture.

"Now, Natalie, I'm just trying to sort some stuff out. According to your files, you seem like a clean kid, no criminal records…"

"Pfft, I think everyone else would disagree with you. Besides, I don't think I've showered for a few days now." Three said with a smile. The Captain tried to hide his disgust, but Three could still see the look on his face that showed what he was really thinking.

"Anyway...let's talk about what happened on that street. So, according to countless anonymous eyewitnesses, people saw you and a group of other Inklings fighting a freakishly tall Octarian, am I correct?" Three sat there, silently, much to the Captain's dismay. He then continued.

"So, from what I could see, this Octarian matches the exact descriptions of the one that killed government officials outside Octo Valley. Now my question is, why did it attack you and your group specifically? Anything you want to tell me, Natalie?"  
"Nope, nothing at all."

"Don't make this more difficult than it needs to be. Just tell me what I want to know, and you'll be out of here."

"No. That's my final answer." The Captain sighed, and Three could tell he was starting to get frustrated at her refusal to cooperate. She knew she couldn't tell him about the New Squidbeak Splatoon. So, she fought on. Every question she was asked was either responded with a simple 'no' to complete silence. Eventually, the Captain became fed up with her antics.

"Look, the government is freaking out about this Octarian stuff. Not only will the whole massacre at Octo Valley's entrance start a war, but if we don't find out what's going on with the Octarians, then another Great Turf War could be happening! Do you want that!? Do you want that!?" the Captain shouted into her face. Three remained silent.

* * *

Agent-3 was walking with Off the Hook, the Cassettes, and Blaster as they reached the hospital.

"Man, that dude was tough. Seriously, he was kinda pissed whenever I didn't give him an answer he wanted to hear." Eject said to the group. Marina was pushing Blaster in his alt mode, mostly because she didn't want anyone to see him. Steeljaw and Ramhorn were in their record alt modes on Blaster. Rewind and Eject walked beside Three, wearing attention deflectors(4) so that no one noticed them.

"Hey Reena, quit pushing Blaster around and let him walk by himself!" Pearl said.

"I can't Pearlie, then people will see him and they'll start to crowd us."

"Please, no more crowds OR people. I've had enough social interaction with other people for one day. I just want to go home." Three said.

"Those guys said they would 'keep an eye on us for the future'. What do you think that means?" Eject asked.

"I have no clue." Three answered. They finally reached the hospital, and visited everyone that was injured during the fight. Callie and Marie were in beds that were next to each other. Both were still unconscious while Agent-4 and Agent-8 were conscious. Upon walking in, the group was greeted by the patients.

"Hi Three!" Eight said. She was cheerful as usual, which made Three smile. The two Cassettes walked over to Agent-4, who seemed to be slightly surprised. Eject was making a chewing motion with his mouth, but soon stopped after a few seconds of doing so.

"Huh, you don't have any sign of PTSD."

"What?" Four asked.

"Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." Rewind said.

"No, I know what it is, but I have no idea what Eject is talking about."

"Me neither." Rewind added.

"Hey, Agent-3 got tortured with dental tools and now every time she sees one, she starts freaking out. But you were about to get freakin' eaten whole and you're not the least bit scared."

"Hey, I was scared! It's just that my situation wasn't as bad as Three's. Right?" Four asked. She got no response from the agent, and when she looked over she saw Three sitting by Eight, talking to her. Four then turned back to face the Cassettes. She could see that Rewind's camera light was on, as always.

"Your light is on."

"Hey, I thought by now everyone knows my light is on." Agent-4 then turned her gaze toward the Squid Sisters, who were laying across from her. Seeing them unconscious saddened her.

"I hope they're okay. I should've come to their rescue. I should've been there." Four muttered.

"It's okay. Besides, you would have been killed if you went all by yourself. They'll be fine, I promise." Eject said.

"Yeah, I guess." What the Cybertronian said to her seemed to have cheered her up. She knew Callie and Marie would be okay. Even though they were injured now, she knew they would be fine.

"Yo guys, I totally think we should find out who that dude was." Pearl suggested.

"Pealie, as much as we would all love to, we can't sneak out so easily. Now that the cops know about us hiding Blaster and the Cassettes, and the fact that they want to figure out why that Octoling specifically attacked us, they're gonna be watching us and following us. Haven't you noticed the guy outside in the waiting room?" Marina explained to the short Inkling. Pearl crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. Three peered into the waiting room to see an Inkling eyeing them carefully, trying to hide his face with a magazine.

" _How cliche."_ Three thought as she popped back into the room.

"So what, we're gonna let them stop us? I don't think so. We beat DJ Octavio twice, stopped a psychotic telephone from destroying Inkopolis, and stopped Shockwave from causing another Great Turf War. There is no way we are gonna let some cops following us around stop us from doing our job."

"We? WE? Excuse me, but the only people around during Octavio's defeat were me, the Squid Sisters, and Cuttlefish." Three argued, making Pearl glare at her.

"Actually, that isn't entirely true. I was there, and so was Blaster and the Cassettes." Marina corrected. Three was surprised by this knowledge. She didn't know Marina had witnessed the battle, she only knew Marina was part of the Army. Nonetheless, it made sense that Marina witnessed the epic beatdown of Octavio. However, the Cybertronians were another issue...

"Wait, I can understand that Marina saw me kick Octavio's butt into a small snow globe, but how the shell did Blaster and the Cassettes watch?"

"Remember, we were with Marina when she first found us when she was younger. I actually have footage of the whole battle that I recorded myself." Rewind told them, before projecting the recording from his head camera.

"Have to admit, we were confused a bit when Marina told us that we had to leave Octo Valley to Inkopolis." Eject added, remembering the day very clearly.

"Anyway, we're getting off topic! We can't just sneak off to Octo Valley. With those guys following us, the New Squidbeak Splatoon could be revealed faster than the Great Zapfish being stolen." Three said. While Pearl and Agent-3 argued, Marina spoke with Eight and Four.

"So, what do you guys think? Should we-"

"If we don't go, then it could have serious consequences. I'd rather have our identities revealed and save the city than hide and wait until the Octarians conquer." Four explained. Eight nodded in agreement, giving Marina a reassuring smile.

"Okay, it's settled. We're gonna go find out what the Octarians are planning, and we're going to stop them dead in their tracks." Marina announced proudly, bringing her fist down onto her palm. This statement made Three and Pearl stop arguing.

"Oh yeah! Take that Agent-3!"

"Whatever, dwarf."

"At least my tentacles don't get in the way whenever I'm fighting."

"My tentacles aren't that long...right?" Three asked, holding her two long tentacles in her arms. Eight just shrugged, but they have grown quite long over time.

"Anyway...I guess we'll be leaving. You two rest, and call us when Callie and Marie wake up." Marina told Eight and Four, who nodded. The group left the hospital and started to walk along the street.

"Hey, anybody know what we're gonna do about me? I got caught in public, on camera." Blaster said from his alt mode.

"Hmmm...maybe we can hide you, and wait until everyone forgets! Yeah, that's a good solution." Pearl suggested.

"Pfft, it's gonna take a while before people forget that they saw a giant frikkin robot walking around the city." Three commented.

"Hm...well, might as well embrace the publicity." Blaster finally told them. Everyone was shocked, since it was Blaster who had wanted to stay hidden in the first place.

"Blaster...are you sure?" Marina asked.

"Yeah, why not? Shockwave ain't coming back, and I don't see anything bad about being around tons of Inklings. I mean, normally, people like your kind would try to dismantle us, tear us apart and see what's inside. That's why I wanted to stay hidden in the first place. But you guys are cool, and I can see that now. I'm perfectly fine with being in public. Besides, I'm sure Eject is tired of hiding."

"Ugh, finally! Does that mean I can participate in Turf Wars!?" Eject asked, the excitement inside of him made the small cassette look like he was gonna explode in utter joy.

"No, sorry Eject." Marina answered, putting a hand on his shoulder when he heard the disappointing news. Ejects slouched, disappointment written all over his face.

"Well, at least I have freedom to move around now." Eject said positively. They all agreed that that was a good thing, and continued to chat as they walked.

* * *

(1): Took place in Splatoon 2

(2): Marie kept a small sword Tailwind uses in his holomatter avatar only, which you might see whenever you read Renegades.

(3): See Renegades Splatoon Story Arc

(4): Attention Deflectors are little devices that make it so that no one notices you unless they already knew you were there.

* * *

Again, I apologize if chapters are gonna take longer to come out, but in my perspective, I'm trying to use that time to look over the chapters, fix mistakes, change a few stuff, and overall try to make it more polished. Hopefully you guys understand, and hopefully you are all enjoying my series. I'll be sure to update this story soon, maybe when I finish the Splatoon Arc in Renegades. Bye!


	4. Splatoon: Halloween Special

**Splatoon: Halloween Special**

 **Well, this took a WHILE (2 long weeks to be exact)! But it was worth it, and just in time too for the new Splatfest! Anyway, this Halloween Special is not really connected to the main plot of the other chapters, it's more of just a random side story. Now, the originally this Special was supposed to have a plot, but I have scrapped that idea. HOWEVER, I kept what I wrote for the plot idea as a "deleted scene", if that's what you'd like to call it (I'm calling it that). Hopefully you enjoy this chapter, which will also be it's own long one shot! So, hopefully you enjoy this story I have put out for the Halloween season!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Splatoon, or any characters except OCs**

 **Note: I will make this a separate one shot since it doesn't relate to the regular plot of the other chapters. However, it will still be a chapter in this story.**

* * *

It's Halloween in Inkopolis, a holiday from the humans that the Inklings managed to preserve. Everywhere in Inkopolis, everything was decorated for the Halloween spirit. Everything was the trademark orange and black that Halloween was famous for. Ink that looked more like glow in the dark goo were on top of buildings. Everyone was dressed too, with people in costumes of all different kinds. Somewhere in the Square, Agent-3 and Agent-8 were talking with Benzo and Lily.

"Wow, this really is fun! Dressing up, getting sweets, scaring your friends, it's so fun! We never had any of this in Octo Valley." Lily said. She had recolored her tentacles back into her Elite black color, and she was wearing a vampire costume which she made herself.

"Well, you're experiencing the magic of Halloween now, so better take it all in!" Benzo said. He had a Frankenstein costume on, which included a big hat that looked like the monster's head. He had a candy bar in his hand, which he was munching on as they explored the Halloween themed Square. Agent-3 had not dressed up, only wearing a Kensa Coat. Eight, on the other hand, was wearing Lil' Devil Horns on her head.

"Three, isn't this fun?" Eight asked, jumping with excitement.

"Um, sure." Three answered.

"How come you aren't dressed? Don't you want to go Trick or Treating with me later?" Eight asked. Three didn't know how to answer without making the Octoling upset. She felt she was too old for Trick or Treating, something she remembers doing in her childhood. She remembers going out with friends to visit houses, where they would ring the doorbell and ask for candy. She remembers how the adults would comment on their costumes, saying how adorable they looked. And she remembers how she would hide her candy stash somewhere so she could stuff herself later. Three was interrupted in her thoughts by loud cheers coming from several Inklings and Octolings in the Square. A crowd began to form in the distance, and when the group turned to look, they could see why:

Pearl and Marina were there, greeting their fans as they walked past. Eight waved to them, and Pearl noticed, motioning Marina to follow. As they pushed past the crowd, they met up with the group.

"Nice outfit Eight!" Pearl complimented.

"Thank you."

"So, are we all ready to do some Trick or Treating tomorrow?" Marina asked cheerfully. She couldn't wait to sink her teeth into some delicious candy bars.

"Emphasis on the 'Trick'." Pearl added.

"I think you spelled 'Treat' wrong." Marina replied. Pearl just gave Marina a disapproving look as she shook her head side to side.

"You are a grown woman. You shouldn't be knocking on doors, asking for candy! You should be TP-ing people's houses! Speaking of which, I gotta TP Sheldon's house…" Pearl said.

"C'mon Pearl, think about all the king sized candy bars you can get for free!" Marina said to her friend, trying to defend her side. In the distance, they could hear two others arguing. The sound of arguing soon got closer and closer.

"Tricks are better than Treats."

"I beg to differ."

"C'mon, don't you think it'll be fun when we throw a TP roll on Pearl's head while she's not looking?"

"Unless I want Pearl to maul my face, then no."

"Pfft, whatever. You're gonna miss all the fun anyway." Eject said to his fellow Cassette as they walked over.

"Hey, where's Blaster? I thought he would meet us out here." Pearl asked as the two Autobots came.

"Well, if you haven't noticed, Blaster is a celebrity just because he's a Cybertronian. And if you haven't put two and two together, let's just say he's being mobbed." Eject explained, pointing behind himself to Blaster, who had a crowd of Inklings and Octolings surrounding him. They were taking pictures with him, asking for autographs, the usual things fans do. Blaster seemed happy to be with the fans though.  
"Where's your costumes? I thought you said you guys would have some." Marina asked.

"Well, we haven't decided YET, but we will soon, don't worry." Rewind assured.

"Hey look, someone's not into the Halloween spirit." Eject said, pointing to Agent-3.

"Oh, Three's getting a costume! Right?" Eight asked. Three had an unsure look on her face. She really didn't feel like dressing up. Eight could tell she felt that way just by looking at her face.

"Look, I'm sorry Eight, I just don't feel like it."  
"Please, can you dress up? Just one time?" Eight pleaded.

"Uh…" Three was thinking.

" _I guess I can do this one more time. For Eight."_ Three thought. She finally agreed, which made the Octoling smile, a grin showing her fangs.

"But just this once, got it?" Three said. Eight nodded happily, not caring if her friend was only doing it for this year. As long as Three participated with her, she was happy.

"So, we're Trick or Treating later, right?" Rewind asked, just to be sure. Everyone nodded, and they all separated to do their own things around the Square, taking in the atmosphere of Halloween.

* * *

Agent-4 was currently at the Squid Sister's apartment, where the two famous cousins were getting their costumes ready. Agent-4 was donned in her costume, which was a remake of Callie and Marie's stage outfits. The only difference was hers was yellow, not pink or green like theirs. Four was sitting on the couch, swinging her feet back and forth from boredom.

"We'll be out in a minute Four!"

"Yeah, I'm almost done!"

"Okay." Four simply replied. After a few minutes of waiting patiently, the Squid Sisters came out of their rooms in their costumes. Callie came out first, dressed in a pirate costume. She had a pink bandana on her head, and a plastic cutlass on a leather belt around her waist. Marie came out a few seconds later, donned in a black ninja costume with lime green outlines on the gi. On her back, she had a sword. She also had a mask covering her mouth. Four thought their costumes looked amazing.

"Arrgh me harty! It's time to swab the poop deck and plunder some pirate booty!" Callie said, doing a pirate impression. Agent-4 giggled while Marie shook her head and smiled.

"Ninjas are cooler."

"Well, according to Article 3, Section 2 of Splatfest Law, since I won, pirates are cooler."

"Callie don't be a...what did Eject say again? Something about a boring law enforcer who doesn't smile…" Marie said, trying to remember what the Cassette had told her one time.

"I think he said 'don't be an Ultra Magnus' to Pearl when she mentioned Splatfest Law. Whatever an 'Ultra Magnus' is…" Four said.

"Wait, what is an Ultra Magnus anyway? Is it supposed to be insulting?" Callie asked as they left the apartment and walked outside on the sidewalk.

"I don't know Callie, ask someone that does know." Marie responded. They walked by many other squids that were dressed in costumes of all kinds, and luckily, no one noticed the Squid Sisters in their costumes. They were pretty happy about this, since although they loved their fans, the last thing they wanted was to spend the whole night being crowded by them.

"So, which of us are you supposed to be?" Callie asked Four.

"Well, I didn't want to pick one of you and make the other mad, so I just copied off your stage outfits and made mine yellow."

"Well, you should have picked me, according to Article 3, Section 2 of-"

"Oh alright, Marie!" Callie yelled. Four giggled at their banter as they walked around.

* * *

"You look amazing Three!" Eight complimented as the Inkling came out of her room, dressed in a Halloween costume. Her costume was that of an angel. She wore a pure white dress with golden glitter that glistened in the light of their apartment, and had some soft, feathery angel wings strapped to her back. Three also had a yellow halo headband on her head, which glowed yellow.

"Thanks…" Agent-3 said. Eight had picked the costume for her, which she was thankful for. She had no idea what she was gonna wear since she hadn't originally planned to do anything for Halloween, much less Trick or Treating. As they went outside with their Halloween themed candy baskets, Three looked around to see a bunch of young Inklings and Octolings walking around, each dressed in their own costumes. For some reason, even though she knew none of them noticed her, she felt like thousands of eyes were staring at her, making her embarrassed.

"Let's hurry up and get this over with." Three said. Eight tilted her head slightly to the side, a thing she usually did when she was confused.

"Why? We just started!"

"Well...um...let's keep walking then…" Three said. She didn't want to hurt her friend's feelings, so she just walked along the houses. The first house they stopped by, Eight rang the doorbell and a middle aged Inkling woman came out to greet them with a massive bowl filled with miniature candy bars and lollipops.

"Trick or Treat!" Eight said cheerfully, holding her basket out. The woman giggled and gave them both a handful of candy.

"I see your costumes are related." the woman said, pointing at them. She then closed the door and the duo walked toward the next house. Eight looked like she was gonna launch several feet into the sky with all the happiness boiling inside her.

"That was so cool! Look, I got small chocolates!" Eight said gleefully, showing Three the wrapped up goodies.

"Yeah, that's cool…"

"Why aren't you having fun?" Eight asked.

"I am! I'm just a little tired."

"I know what this is about. You think you're too old and too cool for Trick or Treating, right?" Eight asked.

"I guess you can say that…"

"And you think you're embarrassing yourself by participating with me?"

"C'mon Eight, we're both sixteen! The last time I did this was when I was fourteen, and...well, I just felt too old for this. I should be doing other stuff, things like daring my friends to walk into abandoned houses, or TP-ing Sheldon's house, or-"

"You wouldn't TP Sheldon's house, would you?" Eight was shocked.

"That's not the point. Point is, I shouldn't be doing childish things like this." Three explained. Eight seemed a bit saddened by this as they kept walking. They stopped at every house on that side of the street, their baskets starting to overflow in sweets. For the whole time, neither of them said a word to each other, and the only things Eight said were "Trick or Treat" whenever someone answered the doorbell. Eventually, the two were greeted by Agent-4 and the Squid Sisters, who also happened to be Trick or Treating.

"Hey guys!" Four shouted, and she ran up to her fellow agents. She looked at their costumes, which she found to be pretty cool.

"Nice costumes."

"Eight picked them, not me." Three said nonchalantly.

"See, they still Trick or Treat." Eight pointed out as Callie and Marie were holding pillow cases, both having bulges on the bottom from the candy they have.

"Why do you say that? Is there a problem?" Callie asked. She had some of her chocolates already, with some melted chocolate covering her lips.

"Three thinks she's too cool and old for Halloween."

"Nonsense! C'mon Three, there's CANDY! AND IT'S FREE! FREEEEEE!" Callie said, shaking the Inkling's shoulders. Three could smell the chocolate in her breath. Eventually, Marie pulled Callie off of the agent, and they all walked along the neighborhood together.

"Three, I don't seem to see why you don't like Trick or Treating." Marie asked. She had a lollipop in her mouth.

"I grew out of it, that's all."

"So you're saying you're too cool and edgy?" Agent-4 joked, playfully elbowing her fellow agent.

"No wonder why she has a cape…" Marie muttered.

"Look, let's just hurry up and finish this." Three said. Everyone just shrugged and walked over to the next couple of houses. These houses gave them bigger sized candy, some even king sized. By now, everyone had started to eat some of the sweet treats they got, even Three. They were finished scouring the neighborhood for houses, and their baskets and pillow cases were full.

"Where should we go next?" Callie asked.

"Dunno, I mean, our bags are full. I don't think we could carry anymore candy with us." Four said, peering down at her stash.

"Aw, but Pearl and Marina said their neighborhood gives out king-sized!" Callie whined.

"C'mon Cal, I think this is enough candy to last us a whole year."

"Fine. But what else should we do?" Callie asked. Suddenly, an idea popped into Four's head as she smiled brightly. _ **(Deleted scene starts here)**_

"I know! We should go to the local haunted house the neighborhood sets up every Halloween! I heard it's pretty well made and spooky! Tons of people always come every year!" Four explained cheerfully.

"Well, if you say it's that good, then I guess it wouldn't hurt to try it out." Marie said, patting the small agent on the head.

"Well, I guess we can go." Three said with a shrug. Eight tapped her friend on the shoulder, making the Inkling turn around.

"Will there be blenders in this 'haunted house'?" Eight said fearfully. Three had a look of sympathy, knowing the Octoling hated the appliance after what happened in the Metro. Agent-3 put a reassuring hand on Eight's shoulder.

"No, there's no blenders in the haunted house." Three said confidently. This seemed to boost the spirits of Eight, who smiled afterwards.

" _Or, at least I HOPE there's no blenders. Wait, why the shell would there be a blender in a haunted house?"_ Three thought. Callie felt her Squidphone vibrate in her pocket, and so she pulled it out to see a message from Marina in the chatroom.

"Hey guys, after the haunted house, we should go to Pearl's Mansion. Apparently, they're having a party and they invited us!"

"Oh cool. Tell them that we'll be right there, we're just gonna check out the haunted house first." Marie said. Callie nodded and began to type away, her fingers rapidly tapping on the screen as she typed the message and sent it. Soon afterwards, they walked along the street, happily chatting away as Agent-4 lead them to the location of the annual haunted attraction.

* * *

Pearl and Marina were Trick or Treating, as they had planned. They hadn't found Agent-3 and Agent-8, mostly because Pearl forgot to tell them where to meet. Pearl was in a vampire costume while Marina had donned an orange werewolf costume. Pearl's vampire costumes consisted of a black cape with a velvet inside, and black versions of her regular boots. She also wore a red skirt with a black shirt. Marina's costume included a headband with furry, artificial werewolf ears attached to them and a fake tail. She also had long gloves on her arms that imitated the limbs of a werewolf, with plastic claws at the tips of her fingers.

"Reena, can't we just TP his house ONCE? Admit it, it's hilarious!" Pearl asked, a devilish grin on her face as she imagined the poor Horseshoe Crab's face when he sees his house had been slightly vandalized.

"Pearl, I know Sheldon sometimes...how do I put it in a nice way...gets too engaged about talking about weapons, but that doesn't mean we should vandalize his house and ruin his Halloween."

"C'mon, it's not vandalism, it's just harmless fun and mischief! Besides, at least I'm not a EIGHTEEN year-old who STILL Trick or Treats!" Pearl said, defending her Splatfest team.

"Then why are you coming with me?"

"Because...I don't want to be alone and bored…"

"And you think Trick or Treating is fun, you just don't want to admit it."

"Yeah, because that means I admit defeat in the Splatfest, and that is NOT happening. Never. Ever." The two immediately stopped talking when they heard familiar voices slowly getting louder as they approached the idols.

"And WHY am I Megatron?"

"Because you're on the Marie/Marina side and I'm on the Callie/Pearl side. And it's obvious from the Autobot/Decepticon Splatfest that I should be Optimus Prime."

"But Optimus has a mouthplate, and you DON'T! I have a mouthplate! It would be more realistic if I-"

"Hey, do you see this? Yeah, it's a mouthplate I made for myself so I look similar to him." Eject said, pointing to his mouth. Surely enough, the was a mouthplate there, covering the Cassette's mouth.

"Yeah, but how do you fix MY problem? Megatron doesn't have a mouthplate, and I don't really have a 'true' mouth underneath this!" Rewind said, pointing to his face. Both Pearl and Marina were trying to hold in their laughter as they eavesdropped on their argument. Both Cassettes looked similar to the Cybertronians they were imitating. Both had made their own custom helmets, with Rewind managing to somehow make it so that he could still use his head camera, which was still blinking red, signifying that it was recording. Both of their bodies were skillfully painted to look like the leaders they were dressed as. Mounted on Rewind's right arm was a black fusion cannon, which didn't actually work. He also had a shorter, skinnier cannon protruding from his back. Eject had artificial wheel kibble on his legs to mimic Optimus' truck kibble, and he even had fake windshield wipers that were on his chest and smoke stacks on his shoulders.

"Nice costumes guys! Who are you supposed to be?" Marina asked as they approached the Cybertronians. Pearl looked at her, dumbfounded.

"Reena, didn't I tell you we had a Splatfest with Autobots and Decepticons?"

"Oh, that's what you guys are? Cool." Marina said.

"So, when's everyone else coming? I'm ready to raid these houses for...whatever we're supposed to take." Eject said. Rewind then projected a 3D image from his head camera, the projection being that of a small candy bar.

"We're supposed to go around houses asking for candy. Now, WE can't necessarily eat candy, but they can, so we'll give all of ours to them." Rewind explained. Eject nodded, now understanding what he has to do.

"Better yet, this neighborhood gives out KING-SIZED candy bars!" Marina exclaimed.

"And it has plenty of houses I can TP later!"  
"Where would you teleport the houses?" Eject asked. Pearl was confused, and Marina just face palmed herself.

"TP. Short for toilet paper." Rewind explained once again.

"Wait, we can throw it on people's houses? Cool, I'm in." Eject said eagerly. Pearl gave him a high five, both of them wanting to cause mischief tonight.

"But, that's not we're doing, isn't that right Pearl?" Marina asked the short Inkling, who crossed her arms, a frown now replacing her smile.

"Aw come one Pearlie, it won't be that bad." Marina reassured, pulling her along as they walked around the neighborhood. Pearl's neighborhood consisted of many rich and wealthy Inklings. The houses were quite large, with a couple of mansions and several other very large houses dotting the neighborhood.

"Pearl forgot to tell Agent-3 and Agent-8 which neighborhood to go to, so only Lily and Benzo will be joining us." Marina said. They stopped at a large mansion on their first stop, and they walked through the open gate to the door. The mansion was quite large, however, it wasn't as big as Pearl's, which was the largest in the area. The mansion lawn was decorated in large and extravagant Halloween decorations, all lit up and illuminating in the spirit of Halloween.

"Woah, look at all the lights." Eject said, poking the nose of a witch.

"Pfft, this is nothing. Wait till Squidmas, that's when they go insane with the lights and lawn decoration." Pearl said, snickering.

"I think it's wonderful!" Marina noted, her eyes gleaming at the sight of the decorations. They walked up to the door, where they rung the very expensive looking doorbell. They heard footsteps slowly getting louder until the door was opened, showing a middle aged couple, the wife holding the candy bowl filled with full sized candy bars.

"Trick or Treat!" everyone exclaimed. The couple handed out the candy bars, until they noticed Pearl was one of the people standing on their doorstep.

"Pearl! I didn't know you still Trick or Treated!" the man said in a shocked but joking tone.

"Well, I'm just following my friends around, that's all."

"Ah, I understand. Well, say hi to your father for me!"

"Got it." Pearl said with a smile. As they walked back towards the gate, Marina was confused.

"Who's that?"

"One of my Dad's old friends. I sometimes see him here or there, not often though." Pearl said. The next house they went to was another mansion, which was a few large houses away from the mansion they were at. This one had an iron gate like they all did, which was left open for Trick or Treaters to come by. Unlike the previous one they had been to, this mansion didn't have any decorations littering it's lawn, which was kept evenly mowed and in pristine condition.

"Trick or Treat!" they said once the large door opened, and there was a guy in a very fancy suit with a large bowl of candy came out. He looked younger than the man from the previous mansion and sported a kind smile.

"Happy Halloween!" the man said, giving out candy and dropping it in their bags. When he looked at Marina, he gave her a nasty glare.

"Well Pearl, who are your friends here?"

"Oh, this is Marina, and these two guys are Rewind and Eject."

"Hm, I see…wow, nice costumes! I might have to give you all extra candy." the man gave two more king sized bars to Pearl and the Cassettes.

"Um, you forgot me." Marina said. He acted slightly shocked before dropping one small candy bar into her bag.

"How silly of me. Anyway, I was hoping if your father would like to help me out on my organization, Pearl." the man said, straightening out his tie as he did so.

"I'll ask him about it. See ya."

"See you later as well." he said kindly. As they left, Rewind was walking backwards, still watching the door while Pearl grabbed the small candy bar Marina got and chucked it at the house. She then pulled out the two king sized bars she got and dropped them into Marina's bag.

"Pearl...you didn't need to do that…"

"No, I did. What a spawn of a squid." Pearl.

"Aaaannnd...done!" Rewind said, turning back to face forward. Everyone looked at him, confused and perplexed about what he was doing.

"What do you mean 'done'?" Eject asked.

"I mean, I'm done recording footage and audio of what he said after he closed the door." Rewind said.

"You can do that!?" Pearl exclaimed.

"Of course. X-Ray camera setting, and advanced Cybertronian audio implacements." Rewind then projected what he got. The man was setting the large candy bowl on a small table while he walked to his kitchen, shaking his head.

"Fucking Octolings. Hopefully, Mr. Pigmy can help my organization rid this city of them and keep the population safe." the man said. He then continued to say more profane and vulgar things about Marina, but Rewind cut the recording short.

"Yeah, his name is Jim Nautilus. He hates Octolings. And if you're wondering, his organization is just a hate cult that wants to rid Inkopolis of Octolings and send them back underground."

"What a jerk." Marina muttered angrily.

"I know, he is Reena. He looks all nice to Inklings and everyone else, but once he talks to Octolings, his real personality shines." Pearl noted. She could see Marina was quite down now, looking on the ground gloomily.

"Hey, don't worry, I'm never going to let him do anything to you or any Octoling in Inkopolis, Marina." Pearl said kindly, a small reassuring smile on her face. Marina smiled back, cheered up and ready to continue. Trick or Treating. It wasn't long before they ran into Benzo and Lily, who were in the costumes they were in before.

"Hey, great minds think alike, huh?" Pearl said, playfully elbowing Lily.

"Oh, I didn't know you were gonna be a vampire too!" Lily said. From the looks of it, Lily and Benzo's bags were already getting full. As they walked to the other large houses in the rich neighborhood Pearl lived in, they talked about where they were. Pearl mentioned the rich guy, Jim.

"Ugh, I can't believe an organization like that is legal here." Benzo said in disgust.

"Well, he has friends in very high places. They are the reason he hasn't been fined and why the organization is still going." Pearl explained.

"Well, even though I'm an Octoling, I really don't see anyone else helping those organizations. Actually, a lot of people are more nice to me than mean." Lily said.

"Maybe because they assume you're an Elite, which you were, and that you could twist their limbs a hundred different painful ways if they bother you." Eject said amusingly.

"I could probably do that, but that wouldn't look so good on the rest of the Octolings in Inkopolis." Lily added.

"Hey, I was wondering, you guys want to have a Halloween party? You know, with people we know and all that?" Pearl asked.

"Yeah, I'd be down for it." Eject replied.

"Sure, why not." Benzo added.

"Yeah, sounds fun." Lily added as well.

"I'll text Callie and see what the Squid Sisters are up to." Pearl said, pulling out her Squidphone.

 **Webmaster: MC Princess has joined the chatroom**

 **MC Princess:** Ayo guys, where you all at?

 **Webmaster: Agent 1 has joined the chatroom**

 **Agent 1:** Just got done Trick or Treating! We're going to this haunted house 4 told us about!

 **MC Princess:** Nice. Hey, Reena and I are gonna have a Halloween party. Wanna join?

 **Agent 1:** Sure! I'll ask everyone!

 **Agent 1:** Okay, they want in. We'll come after we're done the haunted house!

 **MC Princess:** Aight, see ya later Callie!

 **Webmaster: Agent 1 has left the chatroom**

 **Webmaster: MC Princess has left the chatroom**

"Alright, they're comin', they just gotta do some haunted house thing." Pearl said before pocketing her Squidphone.

"Wait, haunted?" Eject asked.

"Yeah, it's a house where people dress up and decorate the rooms to make it look spooky and all that. It's pretty fun." Marina explained. They walked around a bit more, slowly filling their candy bags with king sized bars from the neighborhood. Eventually, they backtracked past the houses they already visited since their bags were full and could no longer hold anymore sweets. However, they lost track of Eject once they passed Jim Nautilus's house.

"Hey, where did the other one go?" Lily asked.

"Eject? He uh...actually, I don't know this time. Usually he yells out to the whole world what he's gonna do." Rewind said. Suddenly, Eject came running at them, laughing his head off hysterically.

"Ay, what's so funny? Eject!" Pearl asked.

"I'm so sorry, I had to. I couldn't resist." Eject said, chuckling to himself.

"What did you do?" everyone else asked in unison, confused as well.

"Well, you know that Jim guy? How he hates Octolings and stuff like that? Well...let's just say while we were walking, I asked Rewind if I could have some recording devices I knew he had…" Everyone turned towards Rewind, who shrugged.

"Hey, he really wanted them" Rewind said.

"Anyway, I spread them all out around his lawn and house, and...just wait…" Eject told them. Suddenly, all anyone can hear was "Fly Octo Fly" playing extremely loudly, accompanied by the sound of burst bombs exploding and the Octoling phrase "Veemo" repeating in an endless one second loop. Eject just smiled victoriously at his work as they heard Jim, who was shouting angrily at his ink covered lawn.

"Team Trick for the win." Eject said.

"Eject! That is not a way we treat our neighbors!" Pearl yelled angrily.

"Good job." Pearl whispered, obviously acting like she was mad.

"Even though he may be rude to Marina, we can't disrespect his house like that." Pearl chastised before leaning in to whisper again.

"He deserved it. That was hilarious." Pearl whispered. They then walked back to her mansion while they heard Jim angrily yelling out to no one.

* * *

The agents got to the haunted house, which looked spooky and perfect for the occasion. Outside, a line of Inklings of all ages were waiting to get in. Most of them were young Inkling children, all dressed in their favorite costumes. The line wasn't particularly long, so the agents went to the back and waited patiently.

"So, what's in a haunted house?" Eight asked. When she asked the question, everyone assumed that Octarians didn't have things like Halloween or haunted houses down underground.

"Well, it's your usual spooky stuff, like ghosts, vampires, werewolves, bats, cobwebs on the walls, stuff like that." Marie explained.

"Does it include telephones?" Eight asked timidly.

"No, unless you had a thing about telephones." Marie replied. The line moved quickly as more kids walked inside. There was a fifty Cash fee, which wasn't that much. Marie pulled out the money and when they arrived at the front, she gave it to the person there. He had a ghost costume on, which had arm holes so he could use his arms. He sat at a small table, a large jar filled with some Cash sitting on top. He thanked Marie before they all went inside. There was a path they were supposed to follow, which was easily noticeable by the purple and orange lights on the ground.

"Cool…" Three said, looking around to see a dark room. It looked like an old living room, with antique furniture set up inside. On an old looking rocking chair, an Inkling dressed in black and dark gray was rocking back and forth, staring them down eerily.

"Welcome to the Haunted House of Tentaville. Beware, for a treacherous journey awaits." the Inkling said to them. Marie looked over to see that Callie was clinging to her arm, already afraid of what lies ahead. They moved along, where they were met by a large room filled with fake cobwebs. Artificial plastic spiders were all over the cobwebs, some hanging from single white strings. A large, animatronic spider with red glowing eyes and moving limbs moved toward the group from the webs. This made Callie and Eight shriek and jump backwards, however, the spider stopped at a certain point before retracting back into it's webby nest. In the distance, a cobweb lined pouch was open, revealing tons of small plastic spiders "crawling" out of it.

"C-c-can we go to the next room?" Callie asked.

"Alright, let's go." Three said. The next room mimicked a graveyard, with headstones and tombstones covering the artificial turf in the room. The path continued along the graveyard, and as the agents walked by, Inklings dressed as zombies slowly stumbled towards them, making realistic zombie-like moans. Their feet shuffled, their arms seemed limp, and their clothes looked worn and torn. The makeup on their faces and body made it look like they were dead. Eight giggled, and when Three looked she saw the Octoling pointing at the zombies.

"They're walking funny."

"I know. That's how zombies walk." Three replied. Callie was using her cousin as a shield from the zombies, who were stuck at an iron fence that served as a border between the path and the graveyard. The "zombies" reached out towards them, making some of the agents shriek and laugh from the experience.. Four and Three gave a few of the zombies high fives, which they responded by moaning "thank you". Soon, they walked down a flight of stairs into a dark room, lit up only by several large machines, with wires protruding out each one. An Inkling mad scientist stood over a table with a very abnormally large, tall, and muscular Inkling of mismatched parts. The scientist had goggles on his forehead and a long lab coat. Loud sound effect imitating thunder echoed throughout the whole entire room as the scientist cackled maniacally.

"It's ALIVE! HAHA! ALIVE!" the scientist pulled a lever and the creature rose up from the table, making a loud undead roar. Everyone jumped back, even Three, as they saw the creature flailing its arms at them, looking as though it was trying to reach and grab them. The next room was back upstairs, and right when they walked up the creaky wooden stairs, they found themselves in a long empty hallway, with many doors on each side. The group followed the path, and as they walked by, each door opened and they were jumpscared by people in ghost costumes. Unlike the regular, ovoid ghosts that people normally saw on decorations, these Inklings had dressed themselves to look like real ghosts, with translucent green glow-in-the-dark costumes that appeared worn and torn from age. Callie ran past everyone else, eager to get away from the ghosts.

"Woah, why's she going so fast?" Four asked.

"Callie's afraid of ghosts. Sure, she's afraid of lots of stuff, but ghosts are probably the top thing." Marie explained as she waved to another ghost Inkling. They reached the end of the hall, where there was one last door that didn't open. There, Callie was waiting for them. She wasn't eager to open the door.

"Geez Cal, no need to be scared. They're fake ghosts. All for fun, no harm intended." Marie commented.

"Hey, h-how about one of you guys open the d-door…" Callie said.

"Fine, I'll do it." Three said nonchalantly, swinging the wooden door wide open to reveal...clowns. Lots and lots of stuffed clowns, all with creepy and grotesque smiles formed by their red lips. Three staggered back, making everyone peer their head inside. As they walked inside, Marie tried to cover her eyes. Four and Eight was looking at both Marie and Three, confused while Callie had a small smile forming on her face.

"What's wrong Marie, don't you know it's fake?"

"Shut up Cal." Marie said. Eight tapped Three's shoulder, making her jump slightly. The Inkling turned around to see that Eight had a worried expression on her face.

"I-I'm okay. Let's go in." Three said, trying to be brave and not stutter. As they walked into the room, both Marie and Agent-3 looked at the ground, trying to avoid eye contact with the many fake, stuffed clowns lining the shelves. Several clowns were all bunched up into one wooden rocking chair. The door suddenly slammed close behind them, and Three hadn't noticed she grabbed Eight's hand. Just then, a clown popped out of the room and jumpscared them, making everyone scream. Marie and Three screamed the loudest, toppling backwards into the piles of stuffed clowns. A door on the side of the room opened, revealing the path they were supposed to follow. Eight, still holding onto Three's hand, pulled her up and ran out of the room with everyone else. The Inkling was terrified, her eyes as wide as dinner plates from fear.

"Three, are you okay?" Three? Three?" Eight asked repeatly, shaking the Inkling until she shook her head, clearing it.

"Yeah, I-I-I'm okay. Let's j-just go." Three said quietly. The other three agents watched from a distance.

"Huh, I guess Agent-3 is scared of clowns too. Just like you Marie." Callie said.

"Hey, clowns are scary. Just look at it's face and tell me that they aren't creepy looking." Marie insisted. Callie just shrugged and they all continued the haunted house. The rest of the haunted house was normal, with some of the rooms including one with human skeletons and another containing a psycho killer with a hockey mask and machete. They eventually walked out the exit, all laughing. The haunted house was quiet fun, even if they were scared at some parts. Agent-3 was still holding Eight's hand, and she still didn't seem to notice.

"That was fun!" Four said cheerfully.

"Yeah, even I have to admit that was fun. Good idea Four." Three added. Callie took out her Squidphone and began texting Off the Hook that they were finished with the haunted house and that they were coming to the Mansion right now.

"We should do this next year. I think that would be fun." Marie said.

"But, let's skip all the parts with the ghosts…" Callie agreed.

"But they aren't that scary. They were kind of funny looking." Eight said, giggling.

"Guys, we have to hurry up and get to Pearl's Mansion! They might start without us!" Callie said, running off before stopping and realizing she had no idea where Pearl lived.

"Um, where does she live again?" Callie asked, turning back to face everyone again.

"I can show you!" Eight eagerly answered, and they all followed her into the night.

* * *

Inside, Off the Hook and everyone else were preparing for the party that Pearl suddenly planned. They grabbed some snacks and filled large bowls with things like popcorn and hard pretzels. They even filled one of the bowls with some of Rewind and Eject's candy, since the two Cybertronians couldn't eat it. Pearl's parents were there too, although they weren't participating in the party.

"Just make sure you don't mess up the house TOO much. And have fun with your friends." Pearl's Dad told his daughter before they left. It wasn't long before the doorbell rang, signifying the arrival of the agents.

"Hey guys! We're here!" Callie shouted happily, greeting everyone in the mansion. They all came running to see the agents, who had finally arrived.

"You didn't tell us where we were supposed to go." Agent-3 told Pearl.

"Yeah yeah, my fault." Pearl said. Eight and Four ran over to the bowls of snacks and candy, eyeing the giant king sized candy bars inside. Three followed them to the bowls, and was amazed at the amount of large pieces of candy they got as well. Four pulled out a large chocolate bar and unwrapped it, taking a huge bite out of it. Her mouth was covered in melted chocolate, and Eight decided to take a chocolate bar and take a bite as well, her mouth soon stained in the brown sweet. Three just shrugged and grabbed a chocolate bar, followed by Callie and Marie, and then soon everyone was munching on chocolate bars and talking about what they did. The agents told about their fun experience in the haunted house, and how Three and Marie were both terrified of clowns while Off the Hook told about their Trick or Treating experience and Eject's prank.

"Really? What if he finds out?" Marie asked between chewing some chocolate.

"Aw, don't worry about it! Eject's barely noticeable in his costume. He doesn't even look like Eject!" Pearl said, sitting on the large kitchen island while sucking on a very large lollipop. Later, three walked up to Eight, who was looking through channels on the large flat screen TV in one of the many living rooms that were in the mansion.

"Hey Eight."

"Oh, hi Three!" Eight replied happily, smiling at the Inkling.

"Um, I'm sorry for...you know...being all 'Trick or Treating sucks' and all that. I really shouldn't have done that. And, truth be told, I actually think it was fun." Three admitted.

"It's okay. I shouldn't have dragged you into it in the first place…"

"Nonsense! You've never went Trick or Treating before, so I understand why you wanted to do it so badly. Plus, I'm your friend, so you wanted to do it with someone you enjoy being around."

"I-I guess yeah." Eight said. The two sat together in silence before Three spoke up.

"We should've gone to this neighborhood. Did you see how huge those candy bars were?"

"Yeah! They were yummy!" Eight said, still imagining the delightful, sweet taste of the chocolate and lollipops. They were soon joined by everyone else, who huddled around the TV. Pearl and Marina brought blankets and pillows so that everyone can get comfortable while Blaster, in his holomatter avatar, and the Cassettes brought the snack and candy bowls over.

"Alright, who's ready to watch a horror movie!" Pearl asked.

"Do we have to? We kinda just got back from a haunted house…" Callie asked.

"Well, it is Halloween, so it makes sense to do something spooky.!" Lily said.

"Yeah, I agree. More of this. More spooky stuff please." Eject added.

"Alright, how about… Friday the Squidteenth?" Pearl asked, holding up the DVD case, presenting it to everybody.

"Sounds good to me." Marie said, munching on a handful of popcorn.

"Alright! Let's watch!" Pearl exclaimed as she carefully laid the disk onto the disk tray, before pressing a button, making the disk tray retract slowly before the movie started to play.

* * *

Later…

Callie was using a blanket to cover her eyes while the killer on screen cut down his next victim. Eight was leaning on Three, the Inkling's arm wrapped around her friend's shoulders. Four laid on the ground, using a pillow as an armrest while she took handfuls of popcorn and hard pretzels. Benzo and Lily were cuddling with each other, sharing a single blanket. They could hear another scream as the killer in the movie got to another person.

"Oof, that was brutal." Blaster said.

"Honestly, the last two people that died before him shouldn't have gone outside." Benzo said.

"Eh, I don't think it would have made much of a difference." Marie added, taking another handful of popcorn. They continued to watch the rest of the movie, making some comments here or there. When the movie finally ended with a jumpscare, they all got up and stretched, having enjoyed the slasher film.

"Hey guys, let's take a Halloween selfie! I'll post it on my blog so people can see what fun we're having!" Callie said.

"Sounds good." Marie said. Everyone else nodded, and so they huddled around Callie so she could include everyone, including Blaster.

"Say Happy Halloween!" Callie said to everyone.

"Happy Halloween!" Callie took the photo, which showed Callie and Marie in the front, smiling. Pearl and Marina were behind them, with Pearl striking a pose while Eight hugged Three close to her and grinned near the celebrities. Beside Agents Three and Eight, Agent-4 was there, holding up a king sized candy bar, and to the right of her was Benzo and Lily. Behind them was Blaster, whose head was only visible due to his large size. The Cassettes were also in the picture, with Eject spinning a toilet paper roll on his finger and Rewind adjusting his head camera. Steeljaw and Ramhorn were on their shoulders.

* * *

 **Callie's Blog**

Hey Squid Kids! Marie and I were hanging out with some friends of ours for Halloween =D! Anyway, we got to Trick or Treat and got KING SIZED candy bars! Better yet, we even spent some time in the haunted house. SPOOKY! (O_O) Well, gotta go, so Happy Halloween EVERYBODY =3!

* * *

 **The Deleted Scene**

 **The original version involved a plot of some sort, where the agents would visit a haunted mansion and get trapped inside, where they find many threats like Guardians (no, not from BOTW. The ones from Fall of Cybertron, who are really cool looking), all who are controlled by this ghost who was angry at Cuttlefish. Of course, this deleted scene isn't necessarily finished, and the part with the ghost isn't there, but I thought it wold be interesting to show you guys how the story might have looked like had I just gone with this idea and made an actual plot. So, enjoy this special thing I included to this Special!**

 **Deleted Scene:**

"I know! There's this spooky mansion that kids say is haunted. Why don't we go there?" Agent-4 suggested. They followed the small agent to a very old looking stone mansion. Ivy and moss was growing on the stone outside. Some of the windows were shattered, and few remained in good condition, being covered in dust. Some parts of the mansion had fallen, as there were parts of large stone bricks, wood pillars and other rubble on the ground, surrounded by overgrown grass. Around the entrance were tons of young Inkling children dressed in Halloween costumes.

"Ooh, spooky." Marie said, patting Four on the head. They walked over to see that the crowd of kids were talking about the mansion, telling each other stories they've heard about the last owners and such. Few dared each other, and they all refused to go in.

"Apparently, three kids went inside that mansion and they never came out. No one wanted to search the place, so nobody knows what happened." Four explained.

"Um...do we have to be here?" Callie asked, turning to her cousin.

"I don't see why not." Marie replied. Obviously, that wasn't the answer she was looking for.

"Dude, if you walk inside, I'll give you one hundred Cash, no joke." a kid told his friend.

"No way dude! Did you ever here about the last three squids that went inside?"

"Fine, I'll buy you TWO Galactic Seanwiches."

"No way, that's not worth it if I'm DEAD!" the friend exclaimed. Agent-3, for once, didn't look bored. So what if there were stories of the mansion being "haunted" and that people went "missing". In Three's head, those were all tall tales squids told each other to scare one another. They didn't mean anything to her.

"I'm going." Agent-3 said confidently. She strolled over to the entrance, walking up the cracked stone stairs and finally standing in front of the rotting wooden door. The small window on the door was covered in dust, so she couldn't see through. She was about to open the door when she felt someone grab her hand.

"I'll go with you." Three turned around to see Eight standing behind her, a smile on her face.

"Fine. In we go." Three turned back to the door, only to hear more voices.

"We'll come too, right Callie?" Marie said, turning to her cousin. Callie was hiding behind Marie, using the latter as a potential shield. By now, all the kids were watching in amazement that people were actually going inside. They were all worried, amazed, and unsure.

"Woah, are they actually going inside?"

"They're never coming back."

"I wonder what they'll see." The kids all talked amongst themselves while the agents, all together now, opened the door and walked right in. The inside was dark, with the only light being from the moon that poured into the open doorway. All five of them stepped inside, and they looked around. The room they stood in was large, a rotting red carpet on the ground, right underneath a chandelier that had fallen from it's chain. Crystals littered the floor, which was covered in dust just like the windows.

"Pfft, this place isn't haunted, just abandoned." Three muttered. She took one step forward when the floor began to shake. The door behind them shut itself, before locking them in. Callie clung to Marie in fear, and all the group can hear was the wooden floor creaking and something crumbling. And, although she wasn't sure if anyone else heard it, Three swore she could here robotic beeps.

"What's going on!?" Four screamed.

"I don't know!" Three replied. Callie ran to the door, trying to turn the knob and free them, but it wouldn't budge.

"The door! It won't open!" Callie said, frantically pulling harder, fear all over her face. Callie then resulted to banging the door, screaming for help, but she couldn't hear anyone coming. Suddenly, the floor caved in and they all fell deep, down into the darkness…

Agent-3's eyes opened slowly, before she got up and remembered what had happened. They had walked into the mansion, and the floor gave way. Now, where was she? She stood up and looked below her feet to see parts of the ground floor there. Up above was a large hole, a large hole where they should be standing. The beeping she heard was now louder than when she heard it from above. She looked at her surroundings. It looks like the basement of the mansion. Old bookshelves lined the walls, with some being toppled over. Dusty old books were all over the floor, and their covers easily showed how time wasn't very kind to them. Tables and other furniture were tipped over or destroyed, only adding to the destruction in the room. Agent-3 stepped over a large pile before she saw a skinny green laser appear, moving erratically around the shelves and remaining furniture that still stood. She squinted her eyes at the source of the laser, and she swore she could see a small glowing, green dot…

And then she felt something tumble into her, knocking her into the ground. She tried to fight back, struggling to get whatever it was off her, when she felt someone's hand cover her mouth, gagging her. With what little light was here, Three could see Eight's eyes peering into hers. Knowing it was her friend, she calmed down. However, Eight looked scared. Maybe she wasn't, but it seemed that way from Three's perspective.

"Don't move or make a sound. That thing will see us." Eight whispered into the Inkling's ears.

"What thing?" Three asked. Eight helped her up and they peered over the couch the Octoling had thrown her behind, and there, out of the shadows, a tall robot emerged. It had a long neck and a slender, cylindrical head, with one eye at the end. A laser that resembled a charger line was emitted from it, and it moved as it looked around the room. It had double jointed legs, a slightly hunched back, and skinny appendages. The sight of the thing creeped Three out. It started walking closer, looking around the large room.

"Where's the others?"

"I don't know. I just saw that thing and hid." Eight said, looking ashamed that she didn't try to look for anyone else.

"What does it do?" Three asked. Suddenly, the laser went past and skimmed Three's forehead. It zoomed past to a nearby bookshelf, but then skidded to a halt before swinging back to Three's forehead.

"Enemy spotted. Battle mode, initiated." The tall robot then changed form, with it's metal limbs and parts interchanging to form a different looking robot. It's skinny, short arms were now replaced with triple-barreled cannons, and it's slender head was replaced with a bulkier one with one single horizontal visor. The legs shrunk too, becoming more armored like the rest of the body. It charged straight at the two agents, who broke into a run. All they could hear are the sound of shots being charged before it fired large projectiles similar to that of a Rainmaker. The projectiles landed in front of them before exploding, covering a large area. Some of the ink from the explosion hit the agents before they skidded to a halt and ran a different direction. Three wiped the ink off her face before leaping over an overturned lounge chair. Eight tripped over a loose plank of wood that was protruding out of a pile of rubble, and the robot nearly killed her if Three hadn't pulled her away to safety. They ran until they were finally cornered. The robot slowly lumbered over to them, and soon stopped a few feet away before charging up another shot. Three held Eight close to her, her costume's wings covering them both. The robot was almost about to fire, until something fell behind it and cleaved it in two, lengthways. Three let go of Eight and moved the one of the wings over to see Marie, Callie, and Agent-4 there. Marie held a sword in her hand, with the two pieces of the robot lying in front of her. The two got up and ran over to their friends, joyful that they were alive.

"Wait, the sword for your costume…"

"It's Tailwind's, so yes, it's real." Marie explained.

"Marie, I thought you were gonna leave that in the apartment!" Callie said.

"I was, but it looked like a ninja sword. At least it's better than your plastic one."

"Pirates are still cooler according to Splatfest Law." Callie rebutted. They all walked around the room, trying to figure a way to escape.

"Wow, who knew someone needed a basement this deep and this large." Marie muttered. Callie still stood close to her cousin, cowering in fear.

"So, what are these things?" Four asked.

"I remember them from stories Gramps told us about his days in the War. He said these things are called 'Guardians' and Octarians used them to patrol bases and protect the outside."

"So, I'm guessing they were a real problem?"

"Yeah, Gramps said these things were a pain to take out, and they made sneaking into bases nearly impossible. He said these things could see you, even in ink." Marie explained. Three saw Eight kneeling on the ground, messing with the remains of the robot. She was touching the arms, examining them closely before attempting to take them apart.

"Eight, what are you doing? It's destroyed, we don't need to worry about it." Three said. That's when she saw what Eight was doing. She was opening up the cannons, messing around with certain mechanics and parts before closing them. She then stood up, a big, toothy grin on her face.

"I made us weapons!" She said cheerfully, presenting her work to Three. Three thought her smile was so adorable, and she took one of the weapons Eight held out to her. She never knew Eight was so smart in technology, even though Marina had told her one time that most Octarians were. Eight gave the other weapon to Agent-4, who took it before mouthing a quiet "thank you".

"Question. What was this thing doing down here?" Three asked.

"I don't know, but I'm guessing they're the reason those three kids disappeared." Marie said.

"You don't mean…" Four didn't want to know.

"Gramps said these things were relentless, and they didn't stop until their enemy was gone or dead. If those kids never made it out, it means they were hunted down." Marie explained.

"Marie, stop! You're scaring them and most of all, ME!" Callie begged. Marie had a look of sympathy, and so she stayed silent. Four suddenly noticed a door on the other side of the room, and she motioned them to follow.

"Are we actually gonna go in there? Why don't we find a way out!" Callie asked.

"We are Cal. Obviously, this room has no escape routes, so maybe the others do. Open the door, Four." Agent-4 nodded and slowly opened the door, trying not to make a sound and attract the attention of potentially more Guardians. They walked into the room, only to find that the place had no light, not even from the moon.

"Ugh, we can't see." Three complained. Just then, Callie slapped the back of Marie's head, and suddenly her tentacles lit up to make a nice, relaxing green colored light. Marie shrieked slightly when Callie had hit her, making her cousin giggle. Everyone else seemed to be shocked about the light coming from her tentacles, however.

"What the? You never told me you could do that!" Four said.

"That's because she's embarrassed by it. All you need to do to 'lighten' her mood is slap her softly in the back of the head in a specific spot, and she lights up!" Callie happily exclaimed.

"How can she do that?" Eight asked curiously, touching Marie's tentacles, her eyes filled with wonder and amazement.

"She's a 'Firefly' squid. She has something special in her tentacles that make them glow. Kinda cool, right guys?" Callie explained.

"Yeah, this is cool! We should do this more often!" Four exclaimed happily.

"What, walking into abandoned sites and crashing through the floor to see if someone wants to kill us?" Three asked sarcastically. Eight elbowed her lightly for that comment. As they neared the middle of the room, more lasers pointed at them, and four more Guardians emerged from their spots.

"Enemies detected."

"Battle mode, initiated."

"Eliminate intruders."

"Uh oh." Marie muttered, and Four and Three opened fire, charging their cannons and firing the explosive Rainmaker projectiles. Some of the ink got into their circuitry and one Guardian exploded, a bunch of scrap metal flying into the air. The other three pursued the agents, firing a barrage of more projectiles. Marie sliced off the legs of one Guardian before stabbing through it's head, killing it. In a corner, Four was being cornered by one of the Guardians. It tried to swing at her with it's cannon arms, but she ducked and leapt out of the way. It then fired at her, the explosion injuring her and knocking her backwards. Agent-4 felt slightly weaker, feeling the enemy ink drenched all over her. The Guardian stood over her, cannons aimed at it's target. That's when Eight leapt onto it's back, and ripped a panel off. The Guardian attempted to reach for the Octoling, but to no avail when she started to tear wires and circuitry out violently. When it stopped moving, she leapt off and watched it fall to the ground. Eight then helped Four up, and they saw that the last Guardian had been killed by Callie, who smashed it with a wooden chair. The chair in her hands now had no legs, with all four of the legs protruding out of the dead Guardian.

"C-can we get out of here already?" Callie asked.

* * *

 **So yeah, that's the Halloween Special! This took me two weeks to write, with Yeroc8 helping to write and edit here and there. At first, I put out the idea of a Halloween Special, but I didn't know what it would be ABOUT. So we brainstormed ideas, and the plot idea was the fist one we worked on. Eventually, I just became unhappy with the plot and where it was going, and I had no idea what to do with it, so I decided to change up the story, which sort of changed how it ended up. As I've mentioned previously, I thought it was an interesting idea to show you guys how the plot would have looked like, so I added it here as an extra. I hope you enjoyed this Special, and Happy Halloween (team Trick all the way btw)!**


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